LITTLE MARY'S 

FIRST 

GOING TO CHUECH. 



INTENDED AS A 



FAMILIAR EXPOSITION FOR YOUNG CHILDREN, 



Bnbm anfo €I]ief Jtolg I up ai t\t &\m\. 



BY 

LADY CHARLES FITZKOY, 

AUTHOR OF "SCEIPTTJEAL CONVERSATIONS." 



0—~^- *^*". 



Revised and Corrected, and Adapted to Use in this 
Country. 



"Jfeeti mg Hamfcs " 

NEW YORK: 

General |3rotetant 2E#tscopal Suntrag <Sc|)ool ©tafon 
antr €;i)utxf) 3$ooft Society 

T62 BROADWAY. 
1859. 



BX5B76 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S5J>, 

By the General Protestant Episcopal Sunday School Union and 
Church Book Society, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the 
Southern District of New York. 



Army And Nav* QlUfr 



William Denyse, Tudnky St RUB8KLL, 

BTKKEOTYl'En AND ELECTROTYPER, PRINTERS, 

183 William Street, N. Y. 19 John Street, N, Y. 



o 



PUBLISHED 



BY 



Cnntrikutinna from fiujtmtt 



NEW JERSEY. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. PAQB 

Sunday— Day of Rest— Going to Church— The Lord's Day 9 

CHAPTER H 

Behavior at Church — Prayers — Praise — Kneeling — Standing— 
Sitting 14 

CHAPTER III. 
Sunday 20 

CHAPTER IV. 
Bear ye one another's Burdens 35 

CHAPTER V. 

Taking Doll to Church— Church, House of God— Prayer 32 

CHAPTER VI. 

Christmas Day — Birth of Christ— Disobedience of Adam and Eve 
—Promise of a Saviour 39 

CHAPTER VII. 

New Year's Day— Christ an Example to the Young— Good Resolu- 
tions 45 

l* 



VI CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VIII. pagk 

Baptism — Answering for another 50 

CHAPTER IX. 

Confirmation— Duties of Clergymen— Protestants and Roman Cath- 
olics — Heathens — Pagans 56 

CHAPTER X. 

Christening— Resurrection from the Dead— The Soul— Heaven- 
Hell— The Devil 63 

CHAPTER XI. 

Twelfth Night— Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles— Green 
Boughs in Churches— Dinner for Poor TO 

CHAPTER XII 
Prayer-book— Marginal Eeferences in Bible 77 

chapter xrn. 

Exhortation— Confession— Absolution 85 

CHAPTER XIV. 
The Lord's Prayer 01 

CHAPTER XV. 

O come, let us sing unto the Lord— Psalms— Old Testament— New 
Testament— Te Deum— Hymns 102 

CHAPTER XVI 
The Apostles' Creed 110 



CONTENTS. Vll 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Collects— Anthem — Singing Psalms 123 

CHAPTER XVHL 
Litany 129 

CHAPTER XIX 

The Communion Service— The First Four Commandments 137 

CHAPTER XX. 
The Last Six Commandments 145 

CHAPTER XXI. 
Collect— Epistle— Gospel— Prayer for Christ's Church Militant 155 

CHAPTER XXII 

Ash Wednesday— Lent — Septuagesima — Sexagesima— Quinqua- 
gesima 161 

CHAPTER XXHI. 
Palm Sunday— Passion "Week 168 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Maundy Thursday— Passover— Holy Communion, or Lord's Sup- 
per 174 

CHAPTER XXV. 
Good Friday 180 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
Easter Sunday 188 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXVn. 
Ascension Day 196 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
Whitsunday— Gift of the Holy Spirit 203 

CHAPTER XXIX. 
Trinity Sunday— Saints' Days 211 



MARTS FIRST GOING TO CHURCH, 



€lli\$ttx Jfint. 



SUNDAY — DAY OF EEST — GOING- TO CHTTECH— THE LOED'S 
DAY. 

ART. Here is Sunday come again : I 
wish, it would not come so often. 

Mamma. Indeed, Mary, that is not 
a right wish ; for the return of the 
day of rest, one clay in seven, on the 
day we call Sunday, is one of the 
greatest blessings we enjoy. 
Mary. How so, Mamma ? 
Mamma. Because it is the day on which 
many, who have been working very hard all 
the week, rest from their fatigue ; many friends 
who have been separated during the week, meet 
and are happy in each other's company; and 
above all, because it is the day that God has 
commanded should be holy and joyful ; the day 




10 



MARYS FIRST GOING TO CHURCH. 



that is set apart particularly for worshipping 
Him, when we meet at Church, which is God's 
house. 

Mary. That is the reason I do not like Sun- 
clay, because you and Papa go to Church and 
leave me at home. Why do you not take me 
with you ? I wish you would. 

Mamma. You are hardly old enough to un- 
stand what people go to Church for ; and I am 
afraid you would not keep still and quiet for so 
long a time. 

Mary. I would try to clo so, if you tell me I 
ought ; and I think I do understand, because 
you, and Papa, and Grandmamma have told me 
it is to pray to God ; but why cannot you do 
that at home ? I say my prayers every morn- 
ing and night. 

Mamma. I hope you think, too, of what you 
are saying, and remember that you are speak- 
ing to the great God who is in heaven, who 
sees everything you do, and hears every word 
you say, and who can give you all that is good 
for you. 

Mary. But you and Papa do that. 

Mamma. But it is the great and good God 
who has given us to you, and without whom 
we cannot do anything. 



G013G TO CHUECH. 11 

Mary. Still you hare not answered me, 
Mamma, why you cannot pray at home as well 
as at Church. 

Mamma. Because God has commanded all 
those who believe in Him and wish to please 
Him, to meet together to pray to Him, to 
praise and thank Him for His goodness, and to 
hear His holy will declared and explained; 
and He has graciously promised that He will be 
with us when we assemble ourselves together 
for those purposes, though invisible to our eyes ; 
and that He will hear us when we pray to 
Him. 

Mary. How can anybody know what is His 
holy will ? 

Mamma. Because a very long time ago 
God put into the m*inds of many good men to 
write what is in the Bible, and when you are 
older, it will be proved to you that they could 
not mistake or invent anything; we are sure 
that all that is in the Bible is true, and that it 
will teach us all that we ought to know and to 
do. 

Mary. Is the Bible read at Church ? 

Mamma,. Yes.. The clergyman reads many 
parts of the Bible aloud. And he and the peo- 
ple, who are called the congregation, repeat 



12 mahy's first going to chukch. 

the alternate verses of the Psalms, some of 
which I have taught you. 

Mary. Oh, yes ! that pretty Psalm beginning 
"The heavens declare the glory of God," and 
some others. 

Mamma. I hope you will often -repeat them 
to yourself, and I feel sure that if it pleases God 
that you should live to be an old woman, you 
will remember them then, and take pleasure in 
them. 

Mary. Then, Mamma, if it is God's com- 
mand, everybody ought to go to Church. 

Mamma. Certainly, everybody who can, 
ought. But God sees and will surely forgive 
those who have a sufficient reason for not going. 
Some may not be well enough ; you and your 
little sister cannot be left without some one to 
take care of you, and you know that for this rea- 
son I sometimes stay at home with you while Ser- 
. lis goes to Church ; then the absolutely necessary 
work of the house is such that all the servants 
cannot go out at once, though it should be made 
as little as possible on this day, and the ser- 
vants ought to endeavour to arrange their work, 
and to assist each other, so as to go by turns. 

Mary. "When Serlis stays at home on Sunday, 
she puts away all her needlework, and makes 



13 

the nursery quite tidy, and reads her Prayer- 
book and Bible, as much as she can with at- 
tending to the baby and rne. 

Mamma. And you should be careful not to 
interrupt her more than you can help. 

Mary. Sometimes she reads a little to me, 
and I like it very much. And sometimes she 
and your maid Jervis lend each other books, 
and I believe they are all about God and good 
people. 

Mamma. I have no doubt they are, and all 
persons who love God and wish to please Him, 
will, whether they are able to go to Church or 
not, try to make this day really His day, by 
thinking and reading about Him and His good- 
ness, and keeping this day solemn and quiet. 
You know I always wish to see you happy, but 
I do not like you to make a great litter with 
your toys, or to be very noisy on Sunday. 

Mary. And I see, Mamma, that you do 
quite different things on Sunday from what you 
do on other days. 

Mamma. Yes, I endeavor to do everything 
that it seems to me will be most pleasing, to 
God, and everything to make me remember 
that it is indeed The Lord's Day. 
2 



15 mart's first going to church. 




(Stagier Sujornfr. 

BEHAYIOE AT CHUECH PEAYEES — PEAISE KXEELIXG 

STANDING SITTING. 

APY. "Was I good at Church to-day, 
Mamma ? 

Mamma. Yes, my dear little girl, 
you were very quiet and did not in- 
terrupt me, and you did what I bid 
you, and the same that you saw Papa 
and me do ; and that is all that can be 
expected from such a little child. 

Mary. And what shall you expect from me 
wdien I am not such a little child ? 

Mamma. I shall expect you even now to be- 
gin to listen attentively, and try to understand 
what is going on, and what the clergyman 
reads ; and by-and-by, when you can under- 
stand more, I hope you will think a great deal 
about it all, and be able to talk with me about 
it afterwards. 

Mary. Did not the clergyman read the same 
prayers that Papa does on a wet Sunday? 



STANDING. 15 

Mamma, Yes, when the weather makes it 
impossible for us and the servants to 2:0 to 
Church, we make up for it, as well as we can, 
by reading the service to them at home. 

Mary. Why does the prayer beginning with 
" Our Father," come so often ? 

Mamma. I could give you several reasons : 
One is, that being the prayer which our Lord 
Jesus Christ taught to His disciples, and they 
to all other Christians, it is the best prayer 
that ever was, or ever can be composed, and 
therefore it cannot be repeated too often. 

Mary. Who were the disciples of Jesus 
Christ? 

Mamma. The persons that were always with 
Ilim, and to whom He taught His gospel, in 
which is contained His holy will ; what He 
wished all men to do, and the great things He 
did for all men. 

Mary. Why do people sometimes stand, 
sometimes sit, and sometimes kneel at Church ? 

Mamma. They stand when they are praising 
God. 

Mary. What is praising God? 

Mamma. It is declaring the greatness and 
goodness of God, and thanking Him for all He 
has done for us. 



16 mary's first going- to church. 

Mary. Then I am sure I ought to thank 
Him, for He has been very good to me, and 
given me a great many things. 

Mamma. He has indeed, my child, and 
much more than you can now know or think 
of; but I hope you will know hereafter, and be 
always grateful to Him, not only by words, but 
by your deeds. 

Mary. But I cannot give anything to God, 
or do anything for Him. 

Mamma. You can show yourself grateful to 
God by obeying Him; that is what He asks 
from you, and has been pleased to say He will 
accept as a return for all His mercies. 

Mary. What is that part when all the peo- 
ple stand up ; and the clergyman and the peo- 
ple take it by turns to read one verse ? 

Mamma. Those are the Psalms of David. 

Mary. Why do you call them the Psalms of 
David, and what does Psalm mean ? 

Mamma. The word Psalm means a song or 
hymn of praise ; and these are called the 
Psalms of David, because most of them were 
composed by King David, a very good man, 
who lived many hundred years ago, and who 
used to sing them, and play on his harp at the 
same time. 



SITTING. IT 

Mary. How I should like to have heard 
him! 

Mamma. He also gave them to the Priests — 
which means the same as our usual word 
Clergymen— to sing in the Temple, as the place 
of worship was called in his time, the same as 
our Church. 

Mary. Then that is the same as is done now. 

Mamma. Certainly, and for that reason, sing- 
ing Psalms should always be done with great 
seriousness and devotion. 

Mary. Are the Psalms in the Bible ? 

Mamma. Yes, they are. But as they are 
constantly used in the service of every day, 
they are printed in the Prayer-book also. 

Mary. But people sit when the other parts 
of the Bible are read. 

Mamma. Yes, because during the Psalms 
they take a part ; therefore they stand at that 
time. But when the clergyman reads the les- 
sons, as they are called, they have only to sit 
still and listen attentively. 

Mary. They sit, too, when the clergyman 
goes into another place in the Church, and 
reads a very long thing out of a book, which 
does not look like a Bible: 

Mamma.. That is called a sermon, and is 
2* 



18 

written by the clergyman in a book of his own ; 
either to explain some part of the Holy Scrip- 
tures, which is another name for the Bible, 
or to give some good advice to his congrega- 
tion. 

Mary, Then the sermon does not signify so 
much as the rest of the service ; I mean that 
part of it which is in the Bible, because you 
told me that God's own thoughts and words are 
in that book. 

Mamma. Certainly the Bible is of the great- 
est importance, but some parts of it are rather 
difficult to understand; and for that reason 
clergymen, whose particular business it is to 
study the Holy Scriptures, take pains to find 
out the meaning of those parts, and to explain 
them to their congregation; and we ought to 
regard them as Christ's ministers, and attend to 
what they say to us. 

Mary. You have not yet told me why we 
kneel part of the time that we are at Church. 

Mamma. Kneeling being the most humble 
and respectful posture, is the fittest for us when 
we are praying to God ; which is asking Him 
to forgive us for what we have done wrong, to 
help us to do right, and to give us all that is 
good for us. And we read in the Bible, that 



KNEELING. 1 9 

when our Saviour Jesus Christ prayed. He 
knelt down ; and we are to follow His example. 

Mary. Why do all the people say Amen at 
the end of every prayer? What does that word 
mean? 

Mamma. It means so he it, or let it he so ; 
and the congregation say it after every prayer, 
to show that they really wish God to give them 
all that the clergyman has been asking for. 

Mary. Dear Mamma, will you not take me 
to Church again ? 

Mamma. Yes, my dear little child ; now 
that I see you can keep still and behave proper- 
ly. I should be very sorry not to take you, 
whenever there is not some very particular 
reason against it. 




20 mart's first going to church. 



Clinic: f jjirlr, 




SUXDAY. 

ART. Mamma, may I ask you a 
question that I asked you once be- 
fore, but you did not answer me ? 

Mamma. Ton may certainly ask 
it, but I cannot promise that I will 
answer it till I hear what it is. Per- 
haps I was occupied with some one, 
or something else at the time, and could not at- 
tend to you ; or it might be that I did not think 
it proper to answer you, and then probably I 
shall not now. 

Mary. This morning, when we were going 
into Church, I saw my Cousin Henry, and I 
wanted to run across the church-yard to him, 
to tell him we had found the ball of string he 
lost when he was flying his kite in Papa's field, 
but you would not let me, and when I asked 
you why, you would not answer me. 

Mamma. I think I have told you before, that 
it is the duty of a little child to obey at once 



SUNDAY. 21 

'the commands of parents, and not to ask the 
reason. 

Mary, I shall be very glad when I am no 
longer a little child, because I shall then know 
the reason of everything. 

Mamma. Indeed, you will not, my little 
Mary. When you are grown up, even if you 
live to be very old and wise, you will find that 
there are many things, and especially as re- 
gards God's ways with man, of which it is often 
very difficult, and sometimes impossible, to 
know the reason. But it will be, nevertheless, 
your duty to submit to God's will without mur- 
muring, and to endeavor at all times to obey His 
commands ; being quite sure that whatever He 
orders is right and best for us. 

Mary. But shall we never know? 

Mamma. Perhaps, when we are with God in 
heaven, if He shall judge us worthy of a place 
there, it may be one of our greatest pleasures 
to understand the reasons of things that have 
seemed so very difficult and hard to bear while 
in this life. Some day you will read in the 
Bible that the Apostle Paul says, "We shall 
hereafter know as we are now known." 

Mary. But you do very often answer my 
questions. 



22 mart's first goitvtg to church. 

Mamma, Yes, I like you to ask questions, 
and I wish to give you the best answers I can 
on subjects that are fit for you to be informed 
about. But I mean that you are not to expect 
always to know my reasons for the orders I 
give you, and that when you do not, it is not to 
make any difference in your readiness to obey 
me. 

Mary. I understand now, Mamma; and I 
will only ask you why, when I think you will 
like to tell me. 

Mamma. I will now tell you why I prevented 
your running across the church-yard, and speak- 
ing to your Cousin at that time. It was be- 
cause we were just going into Church, for the 
service of God ; and I did not wish you then to 
attend to or think of anything but the business 
of the time and place. For the same reason, I 
do not like meeting acquaintances either going 
to or coming from Church, and talking with 
them about every-day subjects, because I think 
it distracts our attention from what ought to 
occupy it very seriously. 

Mary. But you almost always speak to old 
Nanny, and Abel Dawkins, the lame man, and 
ask little Sarah Gradin about her poor, sick 
mother. 



SUNDAY. • 23 

Mamma, Yes, because those are all poor 
people, and I know that it gives them great 
pleasure to think they are cared for by any of 
us ; and as God has commanded us to assist the 
poor and needy, I consider that I am doing 
what is well pleasing in His sight by taking 
notice of them, and inquiring of their welfare. 

Mary. Then I suppose that is the reason why 
you often go into the cottages to see some of 
the old and sick people on Sunday. But you 
very seldom make any other visits, except to 
Mrs. Lamming. 

Mamma. Mrs. Lamming has very bad 
health, which prevents her going to Church ; 
and as her eyes are much affected by her ill- 
ness, she is not able to read much. I therefore 
consider it a visit of charity that I make to her; 
especially as many of her friends, who constant- 
ly visit her on other days, cannot walk to her, 
and like me, would not willingly take out their 
carriage on Sunday. 

Mary. Tou do sometimes take your carriage 
out on Sunday. 

Mamma. Not when I can avoid it. Very 
often in the country I am obliged either to have 
the carriage to go to Church, or else myself 
and many others could not go at all. 



24 

Mary. "When you said you could not send an 
answer to the note that came to you last night 
till to-morrow morning, was that because you 
did not choose to send John out on Sunday ? 

Mamma. Yes. I have no objection to his 
taking a 'walk if he likes it ; but as our ser- 
vants' waiting on us is their work, I wish to 
make a difference on Sunday, by giving them 
as little to do as I can. For that reason I 
am careful not to make a litter or confusion 
that will require to be set right on Sunday ; I 
avoid ringing the bell for trifles ; I do not give 
any directions that may be put off till the next 
day ; and in every way I try to give as little 
trouble as possible ; both that I may not cause 
them to work and that I may not disturb or 
interrupt them, if they are reading, or talking, 
or thinking of serious things. 

Mary. I shall try to remember that, and take 
care not to give the maids more trouble than I 
can help. 

Mamma. Do so, my dear little girl. And 
though it is not much you can do now, when 
you grow older, by constantly bearing this in 
mind, you maybe able to make some difference 
in the comfort of the servants that have any- 
thing to do for you. 



BEAK YE ONE ANOTHER'S BURDENS. 25 




BEAR YE ONE ANOTHER^ BURDENS. 

, ART. Mamma, what do you call that 
little bit the clergyman reads before 
the sermon, which sounds like a 
verse in the Bible, and it was in the 
Bible to-day, I know, because Papa 
showed it to me ? 

Mamma. It always is from some 
part of the Bible, and is called the text — the 
clergyman chooses a sentence or verse, and 
either explains it or takes occasion from that to 
point out our duty. 

Mary. I think I understood part of Mr. 
Etnall's sermon, and that he bid all persons to 
be kind, and forgiving, and charitable; but I 
do not quite understand the meaning of the 
text, something about bearing; burdens. 

Mamma. " t Bear ye one another's burdens." 
It is part of an epistle, or letter, written by 
St. Paul to the people of Galatia, whom he 
had brought to a knowledge of the Gospel. 



26 mart's first going to church. 

Mary. A burden means a heavy weight, 
does it not ? 

Mamma. The word is also used to express 
anything that is a trouble, an inconvenience to 
any person: thus the injunction to bear one 
another's burdens means, as Mr. Etnall in his 
sermon set forth, both that we should bear pa- 
tiently with the faults of temper or other infirm- 
ities of the people we live with ; and that we 
should endeavor to ease them of their burdens, 
to assist them in their difficulties, and to render 
them any service in our power. 

Mary. When I am a grown-up woman, I 
shall try to do all that ; but I cannot now — can 
I, Mamma? 

Mamma. Indeed, I do not at all agree with 
you. Though you are very young, you are 
quite old enough to begin to try to be of use to 
others. 

Mary. How can such a little child as I am be 
of use to anybody? I wish I could. 

Mamma. By being on the watch, and always 
willing to do such little acts of kindness as you 
are able, you will find that even, now you can 
be of some use, and at least you will form a good 
habit. 

Mary. But, Mamma, what can I do ? 



Mamma. Do you not often, when Serlis is 
dressing your little sister, and cannot easily get 
up, fetch things for her from the drawers, or the 
other side of the room ? 

Mary. Yes, because the poor baby would 
cry, perhaps, if Serlis were to get up and leave 
her. 

Mamma. When your Aunt was going out 
this morning, did you not run up stairs for her 
shawl ? Do you not often go to different parts 
of the house with messages for me? 

Mary. And then Grandmamma calls me the 
running post, or the light-footed messenger. 

Mamma. And yesterday you were of real 
use to Jervis, who had left by accident her thim- 
ble and scissors and a reel of cotton down stairs ; 
and as she wished very much to finish the gown 
she was making for me before my usual time 
of dressing, it would have been a great incon* 
venience to her to have been looking for them, 
if you had not taken them to her room. 

Mary. And she said she was very much 
obliged to me for saving her so much time and 
trouble. 

Mamma. Thus you see you can do some- 
thing for grown-up people. 

Mary. Oh, but those are such little things. 



28 mary's first going to church. 

and I like running up and down stairs and from 
one room to another. 

Mamma. I did not mean that there was any 
merit in doing those things, I only wished to 
show you that it is possible for even a little 
child to be of some use. 

Mary. Then should you call me good for 
doing them? 

Mamma. The merit of all actions depends 
on the motive, that means, the feeling in our- 
selves, that makes us do such and such things. 
Therefore, if you fetch or do anything for any 
person because you know that it is right and 
that it will please God, you have a good mo- 
tive; but if it is only because it pleases you, it 
is neither good nor bad ; and if it is only for 
people to j3raise you, and say, " What a good, 
kind, little girl that is !" that is a bad motive. 
Your only merit would be in leaving or giving 
up anything you like, if by so doing you could 
be of use to any one, and not caring whether 
you are praised for it or not. 

Mary. But ought I not to like people to 
praise me? I am always so glad when you, or 
Papa, or Grandmamma, tell me I am a good 
child. 

Mamma. It is very right for you to w r ish for 



BEAK TE ONE ANOTHER ? S BURDENS. 29 

and rejoice in our approbation, because we are 
the best judges .of what you ought to be and to 
do ; but if you try to seem good, only that you 
may be praised by those who do not kno$r 
whether you are really so, that is hypocritical — 
and though you might deceive those who only 
see your outward actions, you could not deceive 
God, who sees your heart, and knows all your 
thoughts. 

Mary, "Well, I am very glad I can be of 
some use. But Mr. Eta all, in his sermon, said 
something about charity, and I knew I could 
not do much charity because I have very little 
money ; and I suppose the poor people cannot 
do any, because they have none to spare. 

Mamma. Charity means love to God and 
men, and therefore does not always, or chiefly, 
consist in giving money, though those who have 
much are bound to assist those who have little ; 
but there are many other ways of being chari- 
table, that is, doing kind actions for the sake of 
pleasing God and serving our fellow-creatures. 
Even the poorest persons may thus be chari- 
table. When Mary Judd sat up three nights 
with her sick neighbor, Mrs. Phillips, and at- 
tended her and her children all the time the 
poor woman was ill, she performed a much 



30 mary's first going- to church. 

greater act of charity than I did by paying & 
nurse, when I heard of the illness, to be with 
them ; for I could afford it, and it caused me 
np inconvenience, whereas Mary Judd willing- 
ly gave her time and endured great fatigue 
without expecting any return for it. 

Mary. Will you tell me another thing if you 
please, Mamma ? "When James Lawrence's cot- 
tage was burned, and he brought a petition ask- 
ing people to give him money to assist in build- 
ing it again, why did Papa say you had better 
put your name to it, that others might see 
what you had given? Was that for you to be 
praised ? 

Mamma. No, my little girl, certainly not ; 
but as many of our friends, who live at a little 
distance, do not know, as we do, that James 
Lawrence is a very honest, industrious man, 
and has brought up a large family by his own 
and his wife's hard earnings, we thought it the 
best way of informing them that he was deserv- 
ing of their assistance. 

Mary. I remember Papa put down my name 
too, when I asked if I might give the poor man 
a shilling. 

Mamma. Yes, for the same reason. If Lady 
Jameson's or Mrs. Cuffe's little children saw 



beak ye one another's burdens. 31 

that you had given a shilling, they might think 
they should do well to help him also. 

Mary, A shilling would not help him much, 
however, poor man ! 

Mamma. Not one shilling only. But if 
twenty little children, seeing the name of one, 
should each give a shilling, or two, he might 
with that money buy a table and some chairs, 
or other pieces of useful furniture that he will 
need. In this way, you see, and we should 
always bear in mind, that even when one per- 
son can alone do little, yet that many can help 
a few, and that the wish will be pleasing to 
God. 




32 



maey's fiest going to chuech. 



Cfeajjhr JfifiJ.. 




*AEIXO DOLL TO CHUECH — CHLECH, HOUSE OF GOD — 
PEATEE. 

ARY. Mamma, may I take my doll 
to Church ? 

Mamma. No, my clear, certainly 
not. 

Mary. Oh dear ! I wish I might, I 
should like it so much, and I am 
sure she "would sit very still. One 
day when I asked you to take me with you to 
Church, a long time ago, before I had ever 
been there, you said you were afraid I should 
not be quiet, and should disturb you. Now, 
you know, if I put my doll in a corner, she 
would never move, unless I pushed against her, 
and then, perhaps, she would fall down. 

Mamma. And then you would be in a great 
bustle to pick her up. But why do you wish to 
take your doll? You know she cannot know or 
understand anything. 

Mary. No, but I should pretend she did, 



TAKING DOLL TO CHURCH. 33 

You say you like to have me with you ; so as I 
pretend she is my little girl, I like to have her 
with me. 

Mamma, That is all very well for you to pre- 
tend to be Mamma, and your doll to be your 
little daughter, and I like, in other places and 
at other times, to see you playing with her ; but 
you must remember being at Church is a very 
serious business, and there must be no joking 
or playing, and you must bear in mind that 
you are in God's house, and in God's presence, 
and try to keep your thoughts fixed on what 
you hear and read. 

Mary. Well, then, I must leave my nice little 
doll at home with Serlis and my dear little 
sister. But, dear Mamma, I thought you told 
me the whole world was God's, and that every- 
thing in it belonged to Him ; why then do you 
talk of God's house and of God's presence ? 

Mamma. Certainly, the world is God's, for 
He made it, and all that it contains ; and all the 
good and beautiful and useful things in it He 
lends us for our use : but the Church is more 
particularly His, because it is the place set 
apart for hearing His holy word, and praying 
to and praising Him. 

Mary. But dear Mamma, when we pray, it 



34 

seems like telling God what we want. And do 
you think we ought to do that, as He knows 
everything ? 

Mamma. He does assuredly know far better 
than we do ourselves what we want, and what 
is good for us. But do not you, my dear little 
girl, w T hen you are with your Papa at break- 
fast, or at dessert, ask him for a piece of bread, 
a biscuit, or an orange, though he knows what 
is fit for you ? And is it reasonable to expect 
that the great God of heaven and earth should 
require less respect from us than an earthly 
father does from his child ? 

Mary. And will God always give us what 
we ask for? 

Mamma. Not always ; because what we ask 
may not always be good for us. We are like 
little children. Do you think your Papa was 
unkind' this morning when your little sis- 
ter ran after him, and wanted very much to go 
out with him ; but he shut the door, and would 
not let her go out? 

Mary. No, because it was raining very hard, 
and she would have been very wet. 

Mamma. And he knew, though she did not, 
that she would probably catch cold, if she ran 
out in the rain. 



CHUUCH, HOUSE OF GOB. 35 

Mary. But Mamma, suppose Papa wants rain 
to make his grass grow, and prays to God for 
it, and my Aunt wants to have a fine day for 
her journey, and prays to God for it, how can 
God give them both what they pray for? 

Mamma. We are never told that God will 
give us exactly what we ask, because we do 
not always know what is good for us ; so though 
your Papa may think it w T ould be very good to 
have rain to make the grass grow, God may see 
that the rain may be bad for something else, 
and therefore not send it ; or though your Aunt 
may wish for a fine day, God may not grant 
her prayer, because He knows that rain will do 
much good. Sometimes, too, God may keep 
from us what would make us very happy, or 
take away what we love and like very much, 
because He knows that we are not deserving of 
those blessings, or because being deprived of 
them will make us more humble, patient, and 
dependent on Him. Often we find afterwards 
it was well for us that the things we have 
prayed and wished for very much were not 
given to us, and many things that we cannot 
now understand — for, here below, our life is 
like a childhood — will, in heaven, no doubt, be 
made clear to us. 



36 

Mary. And do you really think that God 
likes us to pray to Him ? 

Mamma. We can have no doubt of it, for He 
has ordered us to do so over and over again, as 
you will find when you are older and read the 
Bible ; and Jesus Christ has set us an example 
of this, as well as of every other duty, for He 
frequently left His disciples, the men who were 
His companions, and went to some place where 
He could be quite alone and undisturbed, to 
pray. 

Mary. But will God listen to such a little 
child as I am ? 

Mamma. Tes. In one place in the Bible, we 
read, " Out of the mouths of babes and suck- 
lings hast thou ordained praise ;" and in an- 
other part we are told that our Saviour Jesus 
Christ took a little child and set him in the 
midst of His disciples, and said, " Of such is 
the kingdom of heaven," meaning that all who 
really wish to serve God, and do His holy will, 
must be innocent, and meek, and gentle, as a 
little child. 

Mary. Ought we to pray to God any other 
time besides at Church, and in the morning and 
evening ? 

Mamma. We ought to pray to Him at all 



PRATER. 



37 



times and on all occasions, and praise and tliank 
Him for all the good things He gives and does 
for us. And it is not necessary always to kneel 
down and to say words with our mouths : we 
can think prayers with our hearts, without any 
one knowing them but God. 

Mary. I heard a lady say to you one day, 
she could not remember the time when she did 
not pray to God for whatever she wanted, 
whether it was for her Papa or Mamma to 
come back soon, or to help her to learn her 
lessons, or that she should not be punished when 
she had been naughty, and that she was very 
thankful for it. 

Mamma. I should wish you, my dearest 
child, to be like that lady, and to feel the com- 
fort which I know she does, in remembering 
that God is always near to her, that she can 
turn to Him and pray for His help, whenever 
she is in trouble; and being quite sure that 
whatever happens is right, and for her good in 
some way. 

Mary. But it must be very difficult to be 
thinking of God always, because we never see 
Him. 

Mamma. My dear Mary, do you not think 
of your Papa and me when you are not with 
4 



38 mart's first going to church. 

us? Would you forget us if we were to be long 
separated from you? And do you not suppose, 
if you had had the misfortune to be born blind, 
that you would always have us in your mind ? 
Try then to think of God as a merciful, heaven- 
ly Father, who has given us every good thing, 
and who always sees and takes care of us. 

Mary. I will, dear Mamma, and pray talk 
to me very often about Him, that I may know 
Him and love Him better every day. 




<X ■; <; j fl^MijijifjP 




CHRISTMAS DAT. 



39 



Chapter %kt\. 




CHRISTMAS DAY — BIRTH OF OHEIST DISOBEDIENCE OF 

ADAM AND EYE — PROMISE OF A SAYIOUR. 

k ARY. Mamma, what is Christmas 
Day, and why does everybody wish 
each other a merry Christmas ? 

Mamma, It ought to be consider- 
ed as the happiest day of the whole 
' year, for it brought to ns the great- 
est of all blessings. It is the birth- 
day of Christ. 

Mary. How can that be, Mamma? I 
thought a birth-day was the day of the month 
on which a person was born ; and you told me 
there never was a time when there was not 
God, so He never could be born. 

Mamma. You are quite right in saying there 
never was a time when there was no God ; but 
it is also true that it pleased God that His Son 
Jesus Christ should take upon Him the nature 
of a man, and being born like any other baby, 
become like any other man, only that He never 



40 mart's first going to church. 

did anything wrong, as it is said in one part of 
the Bible, "He was made in all things like 
unto us, yet without sin." 

Mary. And was He dressed like my little sis- 
ter and cousin, and did He sleep in a pretty 
little bed, as they do ? 

Mamma. No, indeed ; His mother and her 
espoused husband were very poor persons, who 
had come to Bethlehem to be taxed, in obedience 
to the command of the Emperor, and the inn 
being full, from the number of people that had 
also come there for the same purpose, they went 
into a stable, and there Jesus Christ was born, 
and laid in the manger. 

Mary. Why did God allow that ? 

Mamma. To set us an example to be very 
humble and patient, and contented with what 
we have, though it may not be exactly what we 
should like. 

Mary. So, then, nobody knew He was come 
into the world. 

Mamma. Yes, God made it known by send- 
ing one of His holy angels out of heaven to 
tell some shepherds who were watching their 
flocks by night. 

Mary. Do shepherds watch their flocks by 
night ? I did not know that. 



BIRTH OF CHRIST. 41 

Mamma. In the country where all this hap- 
pened, called Judea, it was customary to do so ; 
both because it was necessary to guard them 
from wild beasts and from straying or being 
stolen, as they bad not inclosed places to keep 
them in as we have, and because they drove 
their flocks from one place to another for pas- 
ture, through large tracts of country; and 
as they were very far from home, and the cli- 
mate is much warmer and better than ours, the 
shepherds used to sleep out of doors with their 
flocks. 

Mary. Were not the shepherds very much 
surprised at the angel coming to them ? 

Mamma. Tes, they must have been ; but the 
angel said to them, " Fear not, for behold I 
bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall 
be to all people ;" then he told them, that in 
the city of David, as Bethlehem was called, 
because King David had been born and brought 
up there, was born that day a Saviour, which is 
Christ the Lord. 

Mary. "Why was He called a Saviour? 

Mamma. Because He came into the world 
expressly to save mankind from sin. 

Mary. "What does that mean, Mamma? 

Mamma, Now, my dear little child, you must 



42 

listen very attentively, and I pray God to help 
me, while I try to explain this to you, for it is 
of very great importance. You may remem- 
ber that soon after the world and everything 
in it had been created, that is, made out of 
nothing, God placed the first man and woman 
in a beautiful garden called Paradise, and the 
only command He gave them was, not to eat 
the fruit of one particular tree ; but that wicked 
Spirit, called the Devil, or Satan, persuaded 
them to disobey God, and for that disobedience 
or sin they were obliged, as they deserved, to 
leave the garden of Eden, to work very hard to 
provide things necessary for them, and to suffer 
many evils. They had now forfeited, that is, 
lost by their own fault, the favor of God ; but 
He, who is all goodness, promised that at some 
future time He would send His Son into the 
world, to obtain by His voluntary death remis- 
sion, that is, forgiveness, of their sins, and not 
theirs only, but those of all mankind. 

Mary. I have been listening very atten 
tively, dear Mamma, but I do not quite under- 
stand this. 

Mamma. I will try to make you, my dear 
little girl. Suppose there was on the table in 
the drawing-room a picture or a piece of china 



PEOMISE OF A SAVIOUR. 43 

that I told you on no account to touch, and that 
if you did, I should not let you come, down 
stairs any more this day; but while I was out 
of the room, some naughty little child should 
tell you it was very pretty, and persuade you to 
take it off the table and look at it; then do 
you not think I should have cause \o be very 
much displeased with you, and to send you up 
stairs, as I had said I should ? 

Mary. Yes, but I should be very sorry for it. 

Mamma. Then suppose one of your Cousins 
should say, " I know Mary has done very 
wrong and deserves to be punished; but it will 
be very sad for her not to come to you any more 
to-day, will you not let me be punished instead 
of her? I will bear patiently whatever you 
may choose me to do, however disagreeable it 
may be ; and will you not, for my sake, if she 
is very sorry for her fault, and promises to try 
always to be good, forgive her, and allow her 
to come to you this evening? 

Mary. Oh, how kind and good that would be ! 
how I should always love that dear Cousin ! 

Mamma. That is exactly what our Saviour 
Jesus Christ has done for us, only that our sins 
have been very much greater than the fault I 
have supposed you to have committed, and that 



44: mart's first going to church. 

He suffered much more than any other man 
ever did, and all for our sake, that we might be 
pardoned. 

Mary. But why do you say we, and our sins, 
Mamma? You have never eaten any fruit that 
you were told not to eat, nor done anything 
wrong. 

Mamma. Indeed, my dear Mary, you are 
mistaken; there is no person, and has been no 
person, from the beginning of the world, how- 
ever good in appearance to you, who has not 
often done wrong ; how far wrong, no one can 
know but God, who sees everything we do, 
hears everything we say, and knows everything 
we think, for He reads our hearts and minds. 

Mary. Then I am sure I must try always to 
do, and say, and think good things. 

Mamma. Yes, and you must pray God to 
help you, for without His help, you can do 
nothing. 




NEW YEAE'S DAY. 



45 



ClppUr Seimttlj* 




NEW YEAE'S DAT — CHEIST AN EXAMPLE TO THE YOUNG— 
GOOD [RESOLUTIONS. 

k AEY. "What a charming day New 
Year's Day is ! I do so like to wish 
everybody a happy new year, and 
everybody to wish me one ! and then 
all the nice presents! — I wish it 
would come very often — why should 
it not ? 

Mamma. Because then it would not be New 
Year's Day, my dear child. 

Mary. Oh, no ! to be sure, it would not. 
Mamma. Neither would you care about it so 
much, I believe, if it did come very often. 
"We are all of us but too apt to forget, or think 
little of the value of those good things that are 
very common ; instead of which, we ought to 
be much more thankful when good things come 
to many persons, and frequently. 

Mary. "Well! but I am very glad of New 
Year's Day, now it is here. 



46 iviary's first going to church. 

Mamma. And very thankful also you ought 
to be to your heavenly Father, for having per- 
mitted you to complete another year, and for 
all the blessings He has bestowed on you 
during its course ; and you should pray to Him 
to enable you, and should endeavor to the 
utmost, to improve in the year that is now 
beginning. 

Mary. Is New Year's Day a Church day, 
Mamma ? 

Mamma. ISTot on account of its being the 
first day of the year ; but it is a holy day, and 
in some Churches there is service to commem- 
orate the Circumcision of Christ ; a ceremony 
which was ordained by God to be observed by 
the Jews on the admission of their children to 
the Church ; as Baptism is used by us, and also 
by a divine command, for the same purpose. 

Mary. And why should that be commemo- 
rated? Is that the right word ? 

Mamma. Yes — commemorate means to keep 
up the remembrance, and we have good reason 
to keep up the remembrance that our Saviour 
Jesus Christ paid obedience to the ordinances 
of the Jews, both because it shows us that He 
entirely took our nature upon Him, except that 
He was without sin, which none of us are ; and 



CHEIST AN EXAMPLE TO THE YOUNG. 47 

because it is an example to us, that we should 
not only be obedient to all God's moral laws— 
those regulating our conduct — but also observe 
all that is enjoined by the Church as to religious 
worship. 

Mary. I suppose Jesus Christ was always 
obedient to His parents. But, perhaps, Joseph 
and Mary did not give orders to Him as other 
parents do to their children. 

Mamma. We are not told this. But it is 
quite clear that He was very obedient to them, 
by what we read, in one of the Gospels, of His 
being subject to them after He was twelve 
years old, though His knowledge and under- 
standing were such, that all who heard Him 
asking questions, and answering learned men, 
were astonished at Him. In that, He set an 
example to all young persons, not to think 
highly of themselves on account of what they 
may have learned, or may be able to clo. In- 
deed, it is usually found, that those who know 
most, are the humblest and meekest, and that 
the proud and arrogant are generally ignorant. 

Mary. Is it wrong for me to talk of what 
you or other persons teach me ? 

Mamma. Certainly not, if you do it with an 
humble spirit, remembering that you ought to 



48 mart's first going to church. 

be very thankful for being taught, and that 
without being taught you could not know any- 
thing. 

Mary. Then you do not mind my telling 
Serlis and Jane what you tell me about God 
and Jesus Christ, and the stories in the Bible ? 

Mamma. No, I am very glad you should, 
because, repeating what you have heard or 
learned will make you remember it better. 
And it may be, that the maids may hear from 
you something they had not the advantage of 
being taught before ; or if they did know it all, 
they will not be the worse for being reminded 
of it. We cannot think too much of such 
things, and for this reason it is, that you see ail 
of us grown-up people reading the Bible very 
frequently, though you may suppose we have 
all done so over and over again. 

Mary. Do you know, Mamma, that my Cou- 
sin Matilda always reads aloud while her maid 
is brushing and dressing her hair ? 

Mamma. Yes ; and I think it is a very good 
practice ; as, by that means, she not only makes 
good use herself of what would otherwise be 
lost time, but also makes it profitable for her 
maid. 

Mary. Shall I do so too? 



GOOD RESOLUTIONS. 49 

Mamma. At present you do not read quite 
well enough, and have not sufficient judgment 
for it to be of much use to your maid. At the 
same time, it may, as I said before, serve to 
bring back to her recollection what she had 
already known, and for yourself it will be be- 
ginning a good habit ; and I have no objection 
to your reading Mamma's Bible Stories, or any 
of the little books of the same kind that your 
Grandmamma or I have given you. 

Mary. Shall I begin this evening? 

Mamma. By all means. You cannot do 
better than begin the year with a practice 
which I trust will, by the blessing of God, be 
useful to yourself and others. 

Mary. Papa said this morning, this was a 
day for good resolutions. 

Mamma. So it is ; but they should be accom- 
panied by earnest prayer to Almighty God, to 
assist us in keeping them; for we must always 
remember that we are poor weak creatures, and 
that of ourselves, as you will find it said in the 
Bible, we can do no good thing. 
5 



50 maey's first going to chuech. 




BAPTISM — ANSWEEING EOE AXOTHEE. 

( AEY. Mamma, why was that baby 

brought into the Church to-day? 

When I wanted to take my doll with 

me to Church, you would not let me, 

because you said, she could not 

know or understand anything; now, 

I am sure, that baby cannot. 

Mamma. A poor woman might bring her 

young children to Church, because, haying no 

one to leave with them, she must either do so, 

or never come herself. But there was a very 

particular reason for bringing the baby you saw 

to-day. It was brought to be baptized. 

Mamj. Baptized ! What is that I 

Mamma. Bein°; admitted to be one of God's 

children, God's people, what the Prayer-book 

calls a member of Christ ; that is to say, one 

of His spiritual body, or Church, as it is styled 

by St. Paul, by a ceremony which, for that 

reason, is commonly called a christening ; that 






BAPTISM. 51 

is, being made a Christian. That is the appella- 
tion given to all persons who believe in, and 
love and serve Jesus Christ, having been bap- 
tized according to His command. 

Mary. Why did you call it being baptized? 

Mamma. To baptize means to wash with 
water; and if you had been near enough, you 
would have seen the clergyman take the baby 
in his arms, and dipping his hand into some 
w r ater in a large stone basin, called the Font, 
pour a little on the baby, as assign that he 
trusted God would, by His Holy Spirit, take 
away sin from the soul of the baby in the same 
way that water takes away dirt from our 
bodies ; and, according to His promise, would 
breathe the Holy Spirit into his heart. 

Mary. Does the clergyman do anything 
else? 

Mamma. He also makes the sign of the cross 
on the forehead of the child, as a remem- 
brance of Jesus Christ having been crucified ; 
that is, having died on a cross, that this child, 
as well as all others, that believe and love Him, 
might become an inheritor of the kingdom of 
heaven. 

Mary. "What does that mean ? 

Mamma. It means, enjoying the blessings of 



52 

his Church, his kingdom on earth, and obtain- 
ing a right, throrgh the merits of Jesus 
Christ's death, of going to heaven, to live for- 
ever with Him in happiness. 

Mary. Is that all about — what do y.ou call 
it? 

Mamma. Baptism. I should have told you, 
that before baptizing a child, the clergyman in- 
quires whether it will give up all sin, believe in 
God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and 
promise to obey God's holy will and command- 
ments. 

Mary. Poor little baby, that is not possible, 
for it cannot speak — it can only cry. 

Mamma. No ; the baby cannot promise for 
itself, but there are persons appointed to answer 
for it, and they are called Godfathers and 
Godmothers. 

Mary. How do you mean, answer for it ? 

Mamma. Do you remember, Mary, my tak- 
ing you with me last year, when I went to 
Plane Grove, to visit Mrs. Bankes, a very ami- 
able old lady, and a great friend of your 
Grandmamma's ? 

Mary. Oh, yes ! and she was very good- 
natured to me, and showed me a great many 
pretty things ; and she gave me that beautiful 



BAPTISM. bd 

great doll, yon take care of for me, in one of 
your drawers up stairs. 

Mamma. And she said to you, "My dear 
little girl, I hope you will have much pleasure 
in playing with this doll, and that it will make 
you think sometimes of an old friend who loves 
you for your Grandmamma and Mamma's sake." 

Mary. Yes ! I remember all that. But I am 
afraid I did not thank her as I ought. 

Mamma. No ; you were very shy. But I 
answered for you, that I was sure you would 
never play with your doll without remember- 
ing her kindness. And when she came here 
this year, you brought your doll to show her 
what care you had taken of it. Now I think 
you understand what is the meaning of one per- 
son answering for another. 

Mary. Yes, I do ; thank you, Mamma. 

Mamma. Before baptizing the child, the 
clergyman prays God to send His Holy Spirit 
to sanctify — that is, to make it holy — and to 
strengthen and assist it in doing its duty when 
it is old enough to know right from wrong. 

Mary. Pray tell me, are all babies baptized? 

Mamma. All, except those who are so unfor- 
tunate- as to live in a country where the people 
do not know Gocl. But if, when they grow up, 



54: 

they leave that country, or by any means are 
happily taught to know God, they are baptized 
then. There are also some mistaken sects who 
omit the baptism of infants. 

Mary. And why must all persons be bap- 
tized. 

Mamma. Because it was the command of 
Jesus Christ himself. He said to HisVlisciples, 
" Go ye, and teach all nations, baptizing them 
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
of the Holy Ghost;" and He gave them this 
assurance, " He that believeth and is bap- 
tized, shall be saved." This solemn ceremony 
is called a Sacrament, which implies a sacred 
agreement, or promise, or obligation. 

Mary. Is any other ceremony called a Sac- 
rament? 

Mamma. Only one other, which takes place 
sometimes after the usual morning service 'at 
Church, and is called the Communion, or the 
Lord's Suj>per ; but as you are much too young 
to understand about that, I shall not say any- 
thing of it at present. 

Mary. Mamma, I think I remember hearing 
of one of my little Cousins being christened, 
and before that he had no name. 

Mamma. That is to say, he had only the 



ANSWERING- FOR ANOTHER. 55 

name which, marks to what earthly family he 
belongs ; not one which could show him to be 
one of Christ's children ; for it is the custom, 
and has been for a very long time, for a name 
to be given at the time of baptism, which is 
therefore called a Christian name. Conse- 
quently, Mary is your Christian name, and 
your other name is called your family name, 
because it is the same as that of the rest of your 
family. 

Mary. "Well, I hope that little baby, when it 
is old enough, will be taught to know all it can 
about God, and grow up good. 

Mamma. Yes, my little girl ; the prayers of 
all who were present were offered up to the Al- 
mighty to that effect, and I trust He will gra- 
ciously hear and grant them. But those who 
have the care of that little child must not think 
they have done all that is necessary in having 
it baptized; it is their duty, when it is old 
enough, to explain what has been done, and to 
bring it up in the love and fear of God. 




56 maey's first going to chuecii. 



<S,]mUt filUI]. 




OONTIEMATION — DUTIES OF CLEEGYMEN — PEOTESTANTS AND 
EOMAN CATHOLICS — HEATHENS — PAGANS. 

,ARY. I heard the housekeeper tell 
Serlis that Jane, the girl yon took a 
little while ago from school to help 
the housemaid, and, as yon said, to 
learn to be a servant, must leave her 
work early to-morrow, as she is to 
go to Church for the Confirmation ; 
what does that mean Mamma ? 

Mamma. Do you remember, that I told you 
when any one is baptized, that person makes 
solemn promises to God ; and if, as is usually 
the case, it is a child too young to promise for 
itself, other persons, called Godfathers aud 
Godmothers, promise for it ? 
Mary. Yes, I remember that. 
Mamma. Then when that child grows old 
enough to understand what has been done and 
what is right, it is bound to perform the prom- 
ises that have been made for it. 



CONFIRMATION. 57 

Mary. Then I suppose, that till that time the 
Godfathers and Godmothers are to teach the 
child what is right, and after that have nothing 
more to do with it ? 

Mamma. Just so. In your case, I think, 
your Godfather and Godmothers can trust to 
your Papa and me to teach you your duty ; 
but if it pleased God to take us from you while 
you are still a child, I hope they would take 
care to instruct you properly. 

Mary. And what is done at the Confirma- 
tion? 

Mamma. The young persons who are to be 
confirmed, that is, who are now to promise for 
themselves, and take from this time, in a man- 
ner, care for themselves, answer the questions 
put to them by the Bishop, and they kneel be- 
fore him while he lays his hands on their heads, 
and prays God to bless them, and give them 
help and strength to perform their duty. 

Mary. Mamma, when shall I be confirmed? 

Mamma. Eot before you are sixteen years 
old. 

Mary. Sixteen — that is a long time to 
come ; then I need not think at all about it now. 

Mamma. Not exactly ; but you may, even 
now, begin to prepare for it, by trying to learn 



58 maby's first going- to church. 

and to do your duty. You are now old enough 
to know the difference between being good and 
being naughty; and I have endeavored to 
make you believe, and fear, and love God; 
therefore much depends on yourself, and if you 
do not now try to be good, and to correct bad 
temper, you will find it much more difficult 
afterwards. Above all things, remember 
always to pray to God for His assistance. 

Mary. "What is a Bishop? 

Mamma. There are different orders of minis- 
ters in Christ's Church, and they have not all 
the same office; the highest are called Bishops, 
and they are over the other clergymen, who 
are called Priests and Deacons. 

Mary. Has a clergyman any other business 
to do besides reading the service at Church ? 

Mamma. A great deal. His business is to 
make all people he has to do with as good as he 
can, by giving them good advice ; and when 
he finds any that are wicked or careless about 
their behavior, to try and persuade them to be- 
come better ; to visit the sick and the afflicted, 
to pray with them, and to comfort them, if pos- 
sible ; to assist the poor, either by himself, or 
by telling their wants to those that can afford 
to give them money, or food, or clothes, or 



PROTESTANTS AND ROMAN CATHOLICS. 59 

medicine ; and to see that the children in the 
parish are properly taught. Besides this, he 
ought to study very attentively the Holy Scrip- 
tures, which is another name for the Bible, so 
as to make himself well acquainted with all the 
contents of that precious book, and be able to 
explain the different parts of it to his congre- 
gation in his sermons. 

Mary. Clergymen have a great deal to do. 

Mamma. Yes ; and we ought always to treat 
them with great respect, and to remember 
that they are the messengers of God to us, and 
the followers of the disciples whom Jesus Christ 
told to go and preach the Gospel to all the 
world. 

Mary. One day, I heard Papa and Mr. 
Jortin, the clergyman, talking about Protest- 
ants and Eoman Catholics; what did they 
mean ? 

Mamma. Ton cannot understand much 
about that, and it is not necessary you should, 
till you are much older ; but I will tell you that 
people are, of course, of different opinions 
about religion, as they are about other things, 
both as to the manner of worshipping God, that 
is, about forms and ceremonies at Church, and 
also some other things. 



60 mart's first going to church. 

Mary. Are we Protestants or Roman Catho- 
lics? 

Mamma. I must tell you that Catholic 
means universal, and that we are a part of the 
whole or universal Church, as well as those 
who follow the opinions, and are under the 
direction of the Pope, or Bishop of Rome, and 
who are, therefore, called Eoman Catholics; 
hut we are usually called Protestants, for a 
reason you will know when you are older. 

Mary. Then. I suppose the Protestants are the 
best people, and it is right to be Protestants ? 

Mamma. We, of course, think we are right, 
but we should remember that we are all the 
children and servants of one God, and that it is 
the duty of all to believe, and fear, and love 
Him, and to love one another. 

Mary. But if we are not right, will God be 
very angry with us % 

Mamma* I think we may feel assured that 
God, who is full of mercy and loving kindness, 
and who reads our hearts and minds, will for- 
give us if we are wrong, when He sees that 
we really think we are right and act according- 
ly ; and we must continually pray to Him to 
give us knowledge of the truth, and to enable 
us to do what we believe to be His holy will. 



HEATHENS — PAGAXS. • 61 

Mary. But are there not some people in coun- 
tries very far off that know nothing about God ? 

Mamma. Yes, and they are called Heathens, 
or Pagans. I tell you these names now, that 
you may know what is meant when you hear 
them used. Many of these unhappy, ignorant 
people worship false gods of their own imag- 
ining, and fancy they shall please those false 
gods by doing many shocking things. 

Mary. And do you think God will punish 
them? 

Mamma. God, as I have before told you, 
my child, sees what is in the hearts of all men ; 
and He only can judge how far they are mis- 
led by ignorance, and how much of their doing 
wrong is wilful ; and I am sure that He will 
excuse or punish them accordingly. 

Mary. What a sad thing it is^that there 
should be any people that do not know and love 
God! 

Mamma. Indeed it is ; for even if they try 
to do well after their fashion, they would be 
much happier if they were brought to the 
knowledge of the great, and wise, and merci- 
ful God whom we worship and were taught to 
obey the commands of His holy laws, and to 
believe in His Son Jesus Christ. 
6 



62 MARY^ FIRST GOI^G TO CHURCH. 

Mary. And can they not be taught ? 

Mamma. Many very good men are always 
travelling about in distant countries, endeavor- 
ing to teach them ; we often hear of their suc- 
ceeding in persuading some Heathens to be- 
come Christians ; that means, you know, to 
believe in and belong to Jesus Christ ; and we 
hope that those numbers will be continually in- 
creasing. Whenever we can do anything to 
help those good men, who are called Mission- 
aries, we ought to do so ; and we can always 
assist by praying God to give them His bless- 
ing. 



CHRISTENING. 



63 



€]mttx %tut\. 




CHRISTENING — EESTTERECT10N FEOM THE DEAD — THE SOUL 
HEAVEN HELL THE DEVIL. 

ART. I want to ask you something, 
Mamma. Are horses baptized like 
babies ? 

Mamma. No, my dear. "What 
should make you think that ? 

Mary. Because when Captain 
Chambers called here to make you 
a visit the day before yesterday, Papa went to 
the door with him, and while Papa was looking 
at his horse, and asking him about it, he said, 
" I have christened it Tuesday, because I bought 
it on that day; 55 and I had never heard before 
that of a horse being christened. 

Mamma. Captain Chambers could not have 
been thinking of what he was saying, for it is 
both very wrong and very foolish to make use 
of such an expression. To christen, means to 
make a Christian, and you, who are but a little 
child, must perceive that a horse, having no 



6i MAEY 9 S FIRST GOING TO CHUECH. 

soul, and no power of understanding any- 
thing about God, cannot possibly be made a 
Christian, which, as I kave^ told you before, 
means a believer in Jesus Christ, one of His 
flock, belonging to Him. But Captain Cham- 
bers is not the only unthinking person in this 
respect; I am very often grieved at hearing 
people make use of the word christen, -when 
they only mean that a name is given either to 
an animal, or a thing without life. And I beg 
of you, my dear little Mary, to take care never 
to do so. It is very wrong, and leads to much 
that is still more wrong, to speak lightly or 
disrespectfully of any sacred things. 

Mary. You were not pleased when that rude, 
disagreeable boy, who came here last week, 
called our clergyman, Mr. Etnall, the parson. 

Mamma. No. The word parson, though it 
is not in itself, in its own original meaning, a 
term of reproach or disrespect, has somehow 
grown of late years to be used as such ; and 
therefore it is that I greatly disapprove it ; for 
all clergymen are God's ministers, and should 
on that account, and as such, be treated with 
respect, even if their own characters did not 
deserve it. 

Mary. "When you were talking just now 



RESURRECTION" FROM THE DEAD. 65 

about Captain Chambers' horse, yon said a 
horse had no soul. Will you tell me what is a 
soul, for I do not quite understand? 

Mamma. No, my dear child, and you never 
Trill quite understand; for it is very mysterious, 
that means, very dark and concealed from the 
knowledge and understanding of mankind; 
but, in this, as in everything else, God has 
given us as much knowledge as is neessary for 
the performance of our duty, and I think if 
you will listen attentively to me, I can make 
you know as much as I do about the soul. 

Mary. I am listening very attentively, dear 
Mamma. 

Mamma. The soul is that part of you, and 
of every one, that cannot be seen or felt ; but 
which enables you to think and to know about 
God, and which will never die ; but will, when 
our bodies die, be removed, we know not how, 
by God's power, and live forever, either in 
great happiness or great misery, according as 
we have done well or ill. 

Mary. And where will our souls go when 
we die ? 

Mamma. The souls of good people will be 
received into Paradise, a happy place, and 
after the judgment they will dwell forever in 
6* 



66 MARYS FIRST GOING TO CHURCH. 

Heaven with. God and His holy angels ; while 
those who have not profited by His goodness, 
in making known His laws to them, and send- 
ing His Son into the world to die, that they 
might be forgiven, will be sent to a dreadful 
place, sometimes called Hell ; there to suffer 
never-ending punishment with the w icked Spirit 
called the Devil, or Satan. 

Mary. Never ending punishment! that 
sounds very dreadful. 

Mamma. Indeed it is, my child ; and I trust 
you w T ill never cease using your utmost efforts 
to avoid being sentenced to it, and never for- 
get how very good God has been in giving 
His Son to suffer for our sins, that we might be 
delivered from this dreadful punishment by be- 
lieving on Him, and endeavoring to amend our 
lives. 

Mary. Tou said, Mamma, the souls of wicked 
people would always remain in that shocking 
place with the devil. "Who is the devil ? And 
why is he there ? 

Mamma. We are told that one of the angels 
in heaven with God, long before this world was 
made, rebelled against God, that is, disobeyed 
Him, in what way we are not informed, nor 
does it signify for us to know, and persuaded 



THE SOUL. 67 

others to do the same ; and for that they were 
cast into hell, and ever since the creation of 
mankind, he has been always trying to make 
them as wicked as himself; he does this in a 
variety of ways, but chiefly by putting bad 
thoughts into our minds. 

Mary. "Why does God let him do so ? 

Mamma. That I cannot tell you, my dear 
little girl, but it is enough for us to know that 
if we pray to God to help us, and that we our- 
selves strive, our merciful Almighty Parent 
will enable us to resist his temptations. 

Mary. Then I shall always send away all 
the bad thoughts he sends into my mind. 

Mamma. That is not so easy as you think, 
for the devil is so deceitful, that he very often 
makes bad things appear much less bad than 
they really are, and sometimes seem to be good 
things. You must therefore pray earnestly to 
God, not to let you be deceived by the devil ; 
and whenever you are in doubt whether any- 
thing you are doing, or going to do, is right or 
wrong, leave it till you are quite sure that it is 
right. 

Mary. "Will our souls go directly to heaven 
or to hell, when we die? 

Mamma. No. They rest in a middle state, 



68 mart's first goixg to church. 

waiting till the end of the whole world, when 
all that have ever lived will be assembled to 
hear the sentence of each pronounced by the 
righteous Judge of all. 

Mary. And what will become of our bodies ? 

Mamma. They, you know, are buried in the 
ground, and after a time moulder away, and 
become a part of the earth. 

Mary. Then there is an end of them. ? 

Mamma. We are taught in the Bible, that 
our bodies will certainly be raised again from 
the dead, and will be reunited to our souls at 
the last great day. 

Mary. But how can they if they have chang- 
ed to earth? Besides, I heard Papa say once of 
some men that were drowned in the sea, that 
they would be food for fishes; so then there 
could be no bodies to rise again. 

Mamma. But, my dear little child, you for- 
get that everything is known and possible to 
God; and He can as easily restore the bodies 
of the dead, as He could originally make them 
out of nothing. 

Mary. How long will it be before the end of 
the world? 

Mamma. That no one can tell ; but that also 
is of no consequence to us, since, when we die, 



AFTER DEATH. 



69 



all in this world will be ended for us ; and as 
our death may occur at any moment, whether 
looked for or not, we ought to take care, by 
leading a holy and virtuous life, to be always 
ready for it. 




70 mart's first going to church. 




TWELFTH NIGHT — MANIFESTATIONS OF CHRIST TO THE GEN- 
TILES — GREEN BOUGHS IN CHURCHES DINNER FOR POOR. 

AEY. Do yon know, Mamma, 'that 
Mrs. James, the housekeeper, is 
making a very large plum-cake, and 
she says it is to be covered over 
with sugar, and have pretty little 
figures and ornaments on it, and 
that it is for Twelfth Night ? What 
is Twelfth Night? and why does she do this? 

Mamma, The sixth of January, twelve days 
after Christmas, is a holy day. On that day 
we Christians celebrate the Epiphany ; that 
means, the manifestation, the showing, the 
making known of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. 
Mary. What does all that mean, Mamma ? 
Mamma. I must tell you a rather long story, 
but one that I think you will like very much to 
hear, and which it is quite right you should 
know. 



TWELFTH NIGHT. 71 

Mary?? I always like to hear your stories, 
Mamma. 

Mamma. I am glad of it, my dear little 
child, and I hope you will listen to this with 
great attention, because it is very serious and 
important. I dare say you have not forgotten 
what I told you on Christmas Day, about our 
Saviour Jesus Christ being born. 

Mary. Oh, I remember that quite well, 
about His being born in a stable, and his 
mother laying Him in a manger, and an angel 
going to tell some shepherds about it. 

Mamma. At the same time, there came a 
great light from heaven, and that light was so 
bright, that it was seen at a great distance by 
some wise men, as the Bible calls them, prob- 
ably learned and clever men, who were fond 
of watching the stars, either in Persia or in 
Arabia, countries to the east of Judea, or the 
Holy Land. They were so struck by this extra- 
ordinary light, that they determined to come 
and see what it was ; and it seems that they 
had a notion of some great person coming into 
the world at that time, and thought God had 
caused this light or star to shine to give them 
notice of it ; for they went to Herod, who then 
reigned over the Jews— the people living in 



72 

Judea — and asked him, " Where is He that is 
born King of the Jews ? for we have seen His 
star in the east, and are come to worship Him." 

Mary. I smypose Herod would not like that ; 
he would be afraid that the new King would 
take his kingdom from him. 

Mamma. Exactly so ; he was much troubled, 
and he sent for the learned men, and those who 
knew much about the Prophecies ; for I should 
tell yon that God had a very long time before 
put it into the minds of several good men to 
prophesy — that is, to know and declare — the 
wonderful things that were to happen. There- 
fore Herod consulted those who had studied 
the Prophecies — that is, read them often, and 
thought much about them — to know where 
Christ was to be born. And wmen they had 
told him, " at Bethlehem," he desired the wise 
men, who were called Magi, to go there and 
seek for the young child, and to let Him know; 
that, as he pretended, he might also worship 
Him. 

Mary. Did the Magi find the young child 
Jesus Christ? 

Mamma. Yes. It pleased God that the 
same star, or light, they had seen before in their 
own country, should again appear over the 



MANIFESTATIONS OF CHRIST. 73 

house where the young child was with his 
mother. 

Mary. They must have been very glad of 
that. 

Mamma. Yes ; the Bible tells us, that when 
they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding 
great joy. They then went into the house and 
worshipped Jesus, and made Him presents, to 
show their great resjDect. And it seems, by 
the rich and valuable gifts they brought from 
their own country, that they must have been 
great men, perhaps princes or kings. 

Mary. Then did they go back and tell Herod ? 

Mamma. No. God made known to them 
that they were not to do so. Herod did not 
want to worship Jesus Christ, but to kill Him. 
The Magi, therefore, went back another way to 
their country. 

Mary. Did Herod ever find him out ? 

Mamma. Herod was so angry when he 
found that they had mocked or deceived him, 
that he ordered all the little children of two 
years old and younger to be killed. 

Mary. How very shocking, Mamma ! • 

Mamma. Indeed it was; but it was one of 
the proofs that Jesus was truly the Son of God, 
and the promised Saviour of mankind ; for this 



74 

circumstance, as well as many others that then 
took place, had been foretold long before by 
some of the holy Prophets. 

Mary, And how did Jesus escape ? 

Mamma. God made known to Joseph, the 
husband of the young child's mother, the Vir- 
gin Mary, that they must leave that country, 
and go into Egypt, to be out of the way of the 
cruel Herod ; and there they remained till after 
Herod was dead. 

Mary. But all this time, Mamma, you have 
not told me how this signifies to us that we 
should make such a holiday of Twelfth Day. 

Mamma. It is a very important anniversary 
for us, and — 

Mary. Stop, Mamma, if you please ; what 
was the word you said just now ? anni — ? 

Mamma. Anniversary. That is, the return 
of a day once in a year, on which day some re- 
markable thing has happened. I was going to 
tell you that Twelfth Day, called in the Prayer- 
book the Epiphany, is a very important anni- 
versary for us, and we never can be sufficiently 
thankful to God when we recollect that it was 
the beginning of making known the Gospel to 
the Gentiles, or Heathens. Before that time, 
there was only one nation, the Jews, or Isra- 



GREEN BOUGHS IN CHUBCHES. 75 

elites, who had knowledge of the true God. 
For this reason, the Christians, in early times, 
very naturally kept up the remembrance of 
the Magi, or wise men, coming to Jerusalem, 
and celebrated it as a time of rejoicing and 
feasting; and because there was a notion, whe- 
ther true or not, that they were kings, it be- 
came a custom to play at a sort of game, draw- 
ing a bean or something from the cake, to see 
who should be called the king for the evening; 
and at first, I believe, the little figures that or- 
namented the cake were supposed to represent 
the Magi. The custom is much altered now. 

Mary, Another question I always meant to 
ask you, Mamma, and I do not know why I did 
not before, is, why green boughs are put in the 
Church at Christmas ? 

Mamma. It has very long been the custom 
to decorate the churches at Christmas with 
holly or other evergreens, no other trees being 
then in leaf; some people think it was to make 
them look fresh and pleasant, as a sign of re- 
joicing for all the blessings which Jesus Christ 
brought into the world ; and others think that 
it was also in remembrance of the first Chris- 
tian churches in England, which were built of 
boughs of trees. 



MARY'S FIRST GOING TO CHURCH. 

Mary. Did you hear, dear Mamma, of the 
dinner for a great number of poor people and 

their children, in the Town-hall at "W , 

on Christmas Day ? 

Mamma. Tes ; and if I had not had such a 
bad cold, I should have gone to see it, and have 
taken you with me. 

Mary. What was it for ? and who paid for it 

Mamma. A number of persons, whom God 
has blessed with plenty, subscribed — that is, 
gave small sums of money, and joined them to- 
gether — to give a good dinner on that blessed 
day to their poor neighbors, because they 
thought they could not better show their thank- 
fulness to God for all the mercies He has 
vouchsafed to them, than by imitating the ex- 
ample of Jesus Christ, who was always doing 
good, and commanded us to love and be kind 
to one another. 

Mary. I dare say the poor people were all 
very much pleased. 

Mamma. No doubt they were. And I hope 
they all thanked God in their hearts ; the poor, 
because he had put it into the minds of the rich 
to do it; and the rich, that He had enabled 
them to have the great pleasure of making 
others happy. 



PEAYEE-BOOK. 



€\mUx %titin\i. 




PEATEE-BOOK — MAEGIXAL EEFEEEXCES IX BIBLE. 

ARY. Oh, Mamma ! do look what a 
nice present dear Grandmamma lias 
made me. A Prayer-book, to be 
quite my own, and for me to take to 
Church, and read in by myself. 

Mamma. It is, indeed, a nice 
present, and I am sure you will 
value it very much. 

Mary. Shall I tell you what Grandmamma 
said when she gave it me ? 

Mamma. Pray do. All that she says is good 
and kind. 

Mary. She said, "My dear little Mary, I 
hope you will value this book, not because it 
has a pretty binding, and because you think it 
like a woman to have a Prayer-book of your 
own ; but because it will teach you to be good, 
and to love God, and in what manner to make 
your petitions to Him." 

Mamma. And I think you will always 
7* 



78 mart's first Goma to church. 

remember to attend to what your dear Grand- 
mamma has said. 

Mary. Yes, indeed, I will; but do tell me 
how the Prayer-book can teach me to be good. 

Mamma. When we pray that God will for- 
give those that are penitent, you must know 
that you ought to be very sorry for having 
done wrong, and try to do better in future, for 
that is the meaning of the word penitent. 
When we pray that our merciful Father will, 
for Jesus Christ's sake, enable us to live a god- 
ly, righteous, and sober life, you must be sure 
that it is your duty to endeavor to live always 
according to God's commands ; since it would 
be absurd and exceedingly disrespectful to ask 
Him to help you, while you do not make any 
effort of your own. When we declare that our 
mouths shall show forth His praise, it is plain 
that you should take every opportunity of 
speaking of God's goodness, and praising and 
thanking Him for it. In one prayer God is 
called the author of peace, and lover of con- 
cord, from which we may be sure that He will 
be pleased at our performing acts of kindness 
towards others. And in all, we are taught to 
ask for what we want, the name and for the 
sake of Jesus Christ ; which should make us 



PRAYEK-BOOK. 79 

remember that we could not hope or expect 
anything, if He had not died for us, and prom- 
ised to ask His Father to give us all that is good 
for us. 

Mary. "Which is the best book, the Prayer- 
book or the Bible? 

Mamma. The Bible is God's own words, for 
as I told you before, He put it into the minds 
of good men to write all that is in it ; therefore, 
it is the very best of all books. But you will 
find that a great deal in the Prayer-book is 
taken from the Bible, and that other parts have 
the same spirit, that is, have the same meaning, 
and very often the same words. 

Mary. There are many words in the Prayer- 
book of which I do not know the meaning. 

Mamma. Many I hope I shall be able to ex- 
plain to you ; and for the rest, you must wait 
till you are older. 

Mary. That is very tiresome. 

Mamma. My clear Mary, can you take as 
long walks as your Papa, or lift as heavy 
weights as the man that works in the garden ? 

Mary. Oh, no ! to be sure I cannot. They 
are so much bigger than I am. 

Mamma. And their bodies being so much 
stronger likewise, they can do many things you 



80 mart's first going- to church. 

cannot. So when your little mind is grown 
strong, and can take in the knowledge of many 
more things than it can now, I hope you will 
be able to understand clearly much that it 
would be very foolish of me to attempt to talk 
to you about now. 

Mary. But you will tell me some things? 

Mamma. Certainly, as much as I possibly 
can. 

Mary. Do you think Noah and his family 
had Prayer-books like this when they were 
shut up in the ark? 

Mamma. I am sure they had not; there 
were no books at that, time, and the art of 
printing, that is, fixing words on paper by 
means of machines, called presses, was not dis- 
covered or invented till some thousands of 
years after. 

Mary. Then I suppose people knew much 
less formerly than now ; I mean than you, and 
Paj)a, and other grown-up people, do now. 

Mamma. Yes ; for there were then very few 
books to teach people, and they were very ex- 
pensive. It is one of the many causes that we 
have to be thankful, that Bibles and Prayer- 
books are now so cheap that there are very few 
persons who may not possess them. 



RAYER-BOOK. 81 

Mary. You said the Bible "was written by 
some good men, as God taught them ; but who 
made the Prayer-boot? 

Mamma. A great deal of its contents is of 
fourteen or fifteen centuries' standing, and some 
of it as old as the Apostles' days. A century is 
a hundred years ; therefore I mean that many 
of the prayers, creeds, and hymns have been in 
use fourteen or fifteen hundred years, and more. 
But what we now call the Prayer-book was 
chiefly compiled, or put together, from the old 
materials, and freed from error, by a great many 
clergymen, assembled together for that purpose, 
in the reign of a very good young King, Edward 
YL, about three hundred years ago ; some few 
alterations were made afterwards ; and when it 
had been very well considered, it was ordered 
to be used in all churches and places of public 
worship in England; and it has been a little 
changed to suit it to the state of our own coun- 
try. The Liturgy, which is another word for a 
set or form of prayers, has been, during all the 
time that it has been known and used, the ad- 
miration of all good and wise men. 

Mary. Are the prayers in it to be read at 
any other time than when we are at Church, or 
have church at home ? 



82 mary's first goixg to church. 

Mamma. The greater part of the prayers are 
quite fit to be used in private; some at one 
time, some at another, according to what we 
feel we want to ask for. But, as I think I have 
before told yon, it is not necessary that we 
should use any set form of words in our pri- 
vate prayers. "We should accustom ourselves 
to think of God as a most wise, and just, and 
kind Father, who is all-powerful, and address 
Him as such. 

Mary. And now, Mamma, will you tell me, 
if you please, something I want to know about 
the Bible. What are those little marks by the 
side of the reading part, in some of the large 
Bibles, which I see you often look at when you 
are reading; and then you turn over the leaves, 
first one way and then the other, and read a 
little in different places? 

Mamma. Those are references to other parts 
of the Bible; and by examining them we often 
find that one passage, which may be difficult to 
understand, is explained by another. 

Mary. Then that is the reason why Serlis 
said she was so much obliged to you for giving 
her a Bible with — what did she call it ? 

Mamma. Marginal references. The margin 
is the side; and a reference is a carrying back, 



MARGIXAL REFEREXCES IX BIBLE. 83 

or a comparison of one thing with another. 
One great use of these references, of which I 
will presently give yon an example, is to show 
lis how remarkably and perfectly the most 
wonderful facts recorded in the Bible were in 
accordance with what God had made known 
and caused to be declared by His holy Proph- 
ets many hundred years before they took place. 
Now for the example I promised you. No 
doubt you remember my telling you of the 
angels appearing to the shepherds while watch- 
ing their flocks at night, and informing them 
of the birth of Christ? 

Mary. Oh, yes ! quite well. 

Mam-ma. The account of this is given in the 
second chapter of St. Luke's Gospel; and by 
the side of the tenth verse, in which we read 
that the angel said, "I bring you good tidings 
of great joy which shall be to all people," you 
will find a reference to Genesis ii. 3 ; and turn- 
ing to that, you will see that God had said to 
Abraham, "In thee," which meant, by some 
one descending from thee, being as it were one 
of thy family — •" shall all families of the earth 
be blessed." Another reference is to the Gos- 
pel of St. Matthew xxviii. 19, wherein Jesus 
Christ commands His disciples to "Go and 



84: 

teach all nations;" another to xxiv. 47 of St. 
Luke's Gospel, where Jesus told His disciples 
that repentance and remission — that is, forgive- 
ness of sins — should be preached in His name 
among all nations ; another to i. 23 of Colos- 
si ans — that is, an epistle or letter written by 
St. Paul to the Christians at a place called 
Colosse — wherein they were told "the Gospel 
was preached to every creature under heaven." 
I need not tell you any more ; this will make 
you understand how very useful it is in reading 
the Bible to have these references to show us 
the agreement of one part with another. 

Mary. Yes, thank you, Mamma, and I hope 
some day I shall have a Bible with marginal 
references ; but perhaps you will let me look 
at yours ? 

Mamma. We will look together, my dear 
little girl. As I have before told you, there 
are many parts of the Bible so difficult to under- 
stand, that I wish you, at present, and for some 
time to come, only to read such portions as I 
may pick out for you. 




EXHOETATIOK. 85 




EXHOKTATION — CONFESSION— ABSOLUTION. 

( AEY. Mamma, why does Mr. Etnall 
read only two of those verses at 
the beginning of the Prayer-book ? 
There are several more, and I be- 
lieve they are all from the Bible. 

Mamma, They are all from the 
Bible ; but if my little girl had 
looked at what is printed in small letters, just 
before those verses, she would have seen that 
the clergyman is directed to read one or more 
of those sentences ; they have been chosen as 
particularly fit for the opening of the service or 
prayers at Church, and the clergyman may 
select which he pleases. 

Mamma. I may as well tell you now, in case 
you should happen to hear the word Rubric 
used, that it means those directions in small 
print in different parts of the Prayer-book, for 
the minister, or priest, or clergyman — which 
words often mean the same — and the congre- 



86 mary's first going to church. 

gation or people assembled at Church, to follow 
in performing divine service. 

Mary. Say the word again, if you please, 
Mamma. 

Mamma. Rubric — it comes from a Latin 
word, signifying red; and is used, because 
formerly it was the custom, and is sometimes 
done now, for those directions to be printed 
with red ink, while the rest was black. 

Mary. I think that is a good thing, because 
it would make one know which are the direc- 
tions, and which part is to be read aloud. 
What is that which comes next ? 

Mamma. That is usually called the Exhort- 
ation. I think you know, that to exhort means 
to advise, to recommend, to beg, to entreat. 
So, in this address, the clergyman reminds the 
congregation for what purpose they are met to- 
gether, and earnestly calls upon them, in the 
first place, to confess their sins to their Al- 
mighty Father. 

Mary. Why does the clergyman call the 
people, Dearly beloved brethren? I do not 
suppose he can love them all so very much. 

Mamma. Of course, he does not love them 
all as much, or in the same manner, that he 
does his own children or his intimate friends ; 



CONFESSION. 87 

but a good clergyman is, and ought to be, 
anxious for the good of his flock, as the people 
that belong to him are often called. And this 
manner of addressing persons is meant to ex- 
press good-will. You will find it by-and-by, 
when you read in the Bible the letters of good 
men to those whom they wished to instruct; 
and all Christians in the Bible are called Breth- 
ren, since, in baptism, they are all made chil- 
dren of God, members of one and the same 
family in Christ. 

Mary. "When the exhortation is finished, we 
all kneel down. 

Mamma. Tes, kneeling being the most hum- 
ble position, it is the fittest when we are con- 
fessing our sins to God, and entreating His 
pardon. 

Mary. In this confession God is called our 
Father, as He is in the Lord's Prayer. 

Mamma. Yes ; and very comfortable it is to 
think that we have an "Almighty and most 
merciful Father," to address in all our troubles. 

Mary. But, Mamma, why do we, in that con- 
fession, call ourselves miserable offenders? I 
am sure I am very happy, and I think you are. 

Mamma. "When we think how often we have 
offended that good God, w x ho has made us, and 



88 mary's first going to church. 

bestowed on us innumerable mercies, we should 
be most miserable and wretched creatures if 
we did not recollect that our blessed Saviour, 
by His death, had obtained the pardon of all 
that repent — -that is, are truly sorry for their 
sins — and trust in Him, and try to amend. 

Mary. Then comes, "Spare Thou those, O 
God, who confess their faults." What does 
that mean ? Spare them from what ? 

Mamma. Spare them from the punishment 
their faults have deserved. 

Mary. "What punishment ? 

Mamma. The pains that follow sin in this 
world, and afterwards in hell. 

Mary. What is hell ? 

Mamma. It means the grave, the place of 
departed spirits, and also the place of torment 
where the wicked live again forever in misery. 

Mary. Forever ? How dreadful ! 

Mamma. Dreadful, indeed ; and the thought 
of it should make us most careful to avoid dis- 
pleasing God. 

Mary. Next we say, "Restore Thou those 
who are penitent." What does restore mean? 
and who are the penitent ? 

Mamma. The penitent are those that are 
sorry for their sins, and when we pray God to 



ABSOLUTION. 89 

restore them, it means, that we beg Him to 
bring them back to His favor — and we ask 
Him to do this, according to the promises of His 
Son, Jesus Christ, who declared that whatever 
should be asked of God in His name, should be 
granted. 

Mary. After that, the clergyman reads some- 
thing by himself, while the people still keep 
kneeling. I do not know what those words, 
absolution and remission, which I saw in the 
Prayer-book, mean. 

' Mamma. They mean the same as forgiveness, 
which the priest asks God to grant; and de- 
clares to the people that God does grant to 
them, if they truly repent and believe in His 
Gospel. 

Mary. Then comes the Lord's Prayer, which 
I know so well, I never need look in my Prayer- 
book. 

Mamma. But I hope you do not, on that ac- 
count, pay less attention to that than to other 
prayers, for it deserves it mofe than any ; being 
a perfect prayer, and taught to us, as I have 
before told you, by our Saviour Jesus Christ. 

Mary. Then it must be the best of all 
prayers ; but I do not quite understand it ; 
will you, dear Mamma, explain it to me ? 



90 



MARY S FIRST GOING TO CHURCH. 



Mamma, Most willingly I will endeavor to 
do so, my dear little child ; but as there is a 
great deal to be said upon it, and I am expect- 
ing your Papa to call me to go out with him, 
I think we must put it off till another time. 




91 




€U$ttx $ttutUtixt\. 

THE LOED'S PEAYEE. 

^RT. Somebody, called Mamma, 
said she would explain to a little 
girl, named Mary, that prayer which 
she repeats every morning and even- 
ing, and many times at Church. 
"Will that person do so now ? 

Mamma. It is very likely that she 
may, because she is very much pleased that 
her little girl wishes to be told about such 
things ; and she is very glad to tell all that is 
fit for little Mary to know at present. 

Mary. First of all tell me, if you please, 
Mamma, how you know that this prayer was 
taught by Jesus Christ ? 

Mamma. Because, in the Bible, there are 
four Gospels or histories of the life of Jesus 
Christ, and what He did; two of them were 
written by Matthew and John, who were 
amongst the men that were constantly with 
Him and called His Apostles; and the other 



92 mary's first going to church. 

two by Mark and Luke, two men who were 
much with the Apostles, and learned from them 
all about Jesus Christ; and in one of these 
Gospels, that by St. Matthew, it is said, that one 
clay when He was telling His disciples about 
their prayers and other things, he desired them 
to pray in this manner, beginning, Our Father 
who art in heaven, and in that by St. Luke, we 
are told that He taught them this prayer in 
answer to their request. And because our 
Lord taught it to us, it is called the Lord's 
Prayer. 

Mary. What are apostles and disciples ? 
And why do you call them Saint Matthew and 
Saint Luke ? 

Mamma. You have asked me two questions. 
In answer to . the first, I must tell yon that a 
disciple is one who learns from another; so 
you are my little disciple. Our Saviour Jesus 
Christ had, as you may suppose, many disci- 
ples, and the wonder is, that all men did not 
choose to become His disciples, seeing that He 
spake as never man spake. From amongst His 
disciples he chose twelve, who were constantly 
with Him, and whom He sent to preach the 
Gospel to all nations, and they were therefore 
called A ostles, because that word literally 



the lord's prayer. 93 

means one who Is sent. Now for your second 
question : Saint commonly means a very holy, 
virtuous person, and it is usual to give that title 
to ihose who are eminent for piety. At first 
all Christians were styled saints, as they were 
separated from the wicked world. 

Mary. I thank you, dear Mamma ; I think I 
shall remember all that. 

Mamma. Now, my little Mary, before I tell 
you anything, will you tell me what you think 
about the beginning of the Lord's Prayer? 

Mary. I think it is very good and kind of 
God to let us call Him our Father : it makes 
us less afraid of Him, than if we only thought 
of Him as the great God who is in heaven, so 
far from us. 

Mamma. Ton are quite right, dear child, 
nothing else would have given us such confi- 
dence in Him ; and as He has been pleased to 
order us to call Him "Our Father," we are 
quite sure that we may depend on His caring 
for us, and providing all that is good for us, 
the same and far more abundantly and wisely 
than any earthly parent. Another thing that 
is taught us by this commencement of our 
prayer is, that, as all persons are directed to 
call God Father ) we should consider all man- 



9i mary's first goi^g to church. 

kind as the children of one parent, and bear 
towards all a degree of brotherly love. Now 
tell me, dear Mary, what words follow " Our 
Father." 

Mary. " Who art in heaven." 

Mamma. These words remind us of the 
greatness of God, who is in heaven, from 
whence He sees, knows, and governs all that is 
passing in this world. 

Mary. I thought you told me that God is 
everywhere ? 

Mamma. He is everywhere present, my dear, 
inasmuch as He sees and knows everything ; 
but His glory is more manifested in heaven 
amongst His holy angels, and there we may 
hope, by the goodness of His Son, who died for 
us, and the assistance given us by His Holy 
Spirit, to live hereafter with Him in glory and 
happiness. Do you remember the first thing 
we ask of God in this prayer ? 

Mary. I remember the words, " Hallowed be 
Thy name," but I do not know what they 
mean. 

Mamma. To hallow means to honor, to rev- 
erence, to keep holy. Our praying that God's 
name may be hallowed, teaches us, that we 
should speak of, and to Him, with great respect, 



the lord's puayer. 95 

and treat with reverence whatever belongs to 
Him, or is in any way particularly connected 
with Him. 

Mary, I do not know, either, the meaning 
of the next words, "Thy kingdom come." 

Mamma. The kingdom of God — the king- 
dom of Christ — the kingdom of Heaven — all 
which expressions we find in the Bible, are 
there used to denote the Church of Christ and 
His religion, and the holiness which is the state 
of those who truly love God. In praying, 
therefore, that God's kingdom may come, we 
express our desire that the holy Gospel may be 
spread universally ; both amongst those who 
are still in various parts of the world living in 
ignorance of our blessed Saviour, and all He 
has done and suffered for us ; and those who 
even in this and other Christian countries con- 
tinue in forgetfulness and inattention to His 
divine commands. We also pray to Gocl, in 
these words, to establish in our minds such a 
love towards Him, and submission to His will, 
that we may have no other wish but to obey 
and please Him. Now, perhaps, my little 
Mary can better understand the next petition, 
" Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven ?" 
Ifary. I suppose, Mamma, that means that 



96 

we should obey God as the angels do in 
heaven. 

Mamma. Yes ; and I will tell you the answer 
made by some one to the question, " How is 
the will of God done in heaven ?" It is done 
by the angels in heaven, immediately, diligent- 
ly, always, all together, with all their strength, 
and without asking any questions about it. 

Mary. What a charming thing it would be 
if everybody in this world were like the angels ! 

Mamma. Indeed it would ; but though that 
is not to be hoped for, every one of us may en- 
deavor, by living peaceably, and doing acts of 
kindness, to make the world around us, in some 
degree, resemble heaven. Now, we come to 
a petition for temporal blessings. 

Mary. "What does that mean ? 

Mamma. Something belonging to the present 
time. 

Mary. Certainly, this part of the prayer is 
about the present time ; for it is, " Give us this 
day our daily bread ;" — but, Mamma, why do 
we ask for bread only, and only for this day ? 
We want many other things besides bread ; 
and if we had ever so much to-day, it would 
not prevent our being hungry to-morrow, if we 
were not to have some then also. 



THE LOPJTS PRAYER. 97 

Mamma. By bread is probably meant all 
things necessary for food ; and not only food, 
but all that is essential to the support of hu- 
man life, as clothing, dwelling, etc. And 
bread, the simplest and commonest article of 
food, may be mentioned, to teach us to be con- 
tent with whatever we have ; and the reason 
for our being told to ask it for this day^ seems 
to be to remind us, that we ought to ask every 
day, and to trust God for a renewal of His 
mercies. 

Mary. The next sentence is, "Forgive us 
our trespasses." Trespasses are the same as 
faults, are they not ? 

Mamma. Rather offences — but all our faults 
are offences against God — and great is the 
need that we should pray to God to forgive 
us ; for the best of us are constantly offend- 
ing Him ; and if He were not a most merciful, 
as well as a just God, what would become of 
us? 

Mary. I am sure I hope God will forgive me, 
for I know that I often do things that I ought 
not, though I wish to be good. 

Mamma. That is the case with all of us, and 
proves how absolutely dependent we are on the 
mercy of God. 



98 mary's first going to church. 

Mary. But why do we add, " as we forgive 
those who trespass against us?" 

Mamma. Because it has pleased God to 
make that a condition of His forgiving us. 
And very thankful we ought to be to Him for 
having done so ; since nothing could so strong- 
ly have convinced us of the duty and necessity 
of forgiving our fellow-creatures for their real 
or supposed offences against us. 

Mary. Why do you say real or supposed 
offences ? 

Mamma. Because many persons are but too 
apt to imagine others have offended them, 
when, in fact, no offence was intended. 

Mary. It is not right to be easily offended, is 
it? 

Mamma. Neither right nor wise. Not right, 
because God has commanded us to forgive each 
other; and because there never was a stronger 
example of forgiveness than our Lord Jesus 
Christ, whom we are enjoined to follow as 
nearly as we can ; and not wise, because our 
taking offence produces much misery to our- 
selves, and those around us. 

Mary. Next comes, " Lead us not into temp- 
tation." I think I know T partly what that 
means ; because one day when my Aunt went 



THE LORD'S PRAYER. 99 

out in the carriage with you, and you went into 
a shop to buy some things you wanted for 
yourself and us, she said she would remain in 
the carriage with me, and not put herself in 
the way of temptation. While we were wait- 
ing for you, I asked her why she had said that. 
Then she told me that she thought, perhaps if 
she had gone into the shop, she might have 
seen some pretty silks or ribbons, and be 
tempted to buy some that she did not want, 
and that it was much better to keep her money 
for really useful things. 

Mamma. Very well; you understand, I see 
from this, that to tempt, means to persuade, to 
induce, to try to make a person do a thing he 
does not wish, and feels not to be right. But 
I doubt whether you know what you mean 
when you ask God not to lead you into temp- 
tation ? 

Mary. No, certainly, I do not — for I am 
sure God never can wish to make anybody do 
wrong. 

Mamma. Assuredly He does not. But as 
He knows everything, and has power over 
everything, we may very justly pray to Him 
not to let us be persuaded or enticed to do 
wrong ; and we should always remember that 



100 mart's first going to church. 

we are poor, weak creatures in ourselves; and 
must not trust to our own efforts and good reso- 
lutions, but continually implore God's assist- 
ance. 

Mary. The next sentence, " Deliver us from 
evil," I suppose, means, help us in all dangers, 
and take all bad things away from us. 

Mamma. Yes ; and not only dangers to the 
body, and the things that we think bad, belong- 
ing to this world ; but all evil thoughts and 
desires, and whatever might draw us away from 
our duty. 

Mary. Then come some words that do not 
sound like asking for anything : " for thine is 
the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for- 
ever and ever." 

Mamma. Tou are right; that part is not 
prayer, properly so called, but praise — and is 
commonly known by the name of the Doxology, 
which means a form of giving glory to God ; 
and we use it at the end of the Lord's Prayer 
as an expression of praise and thankfulness to 
God, and to remind us that we are entirely de- 
pendent on the mercy of our heavenly Father, 
who is able and willing to give and do for us 
all that we can want — and of whose greatness 
and goodness there never will be an end. The 



101 

Lord's Prayer should always be repeated aloud 
by the people with the minister. 

Mary. Thank you, dear Mamma. K"ow that 
you have explained the Lord's Prayer so nicely 
to me, I hope I shall never say it without think- 
ing of the meaning of it all — and that God will 
listen graciously to my prayers. 

Mamma. Of that there is no doubt, my dear 
little child ; we are repeatedly told in the Bible, 
that God will certainly hear with approbation, 
and grant the prayers of all who address Him 
with sincerity and humble trust in Him. 
9* 



102 mary's first going to church. 




$fr»&t*r $iftttixt\. 

O, COME LET TJS SING TTNTO THE LOED — PSALMS — OLD TES- 
TAMENT — NEW TESTAMENT — TE DEUM — HYMNS. 

ARY. Shall we go on now with the 
service of the Church? I mean, 
Mamma, will yon be so good as to 
go on explaining it to me? Yon 
know, all the time we talked about 
it last was taken np with telling me 
about the Lord's Prayer. And I 
am very glad you have told me so much, 
Mamma, because now when I say it, I feel 
somehow as if it were my own prayer ; as if I 
were really speaking to God, and asking Him 
to give me all that I want, and really prais- 
ing Him. Before, it seemed like those little 
Welsh children somebody one day told you of, 
who had learned a few words of English by 
rote, and begged, without knowing what they 
said. 

Mamma. I hope, dear Mary, you will always 
attend to your prayers; repeating them with 




j 

E 



; ill!!! 






if 













ipOl .m 



a®. 










PSALMS. 103 

your mouth, and jour heart not going with 
your mouth, would, as you must be aware, be 
quite useless; and worse than useless, for it 
would be a mockery of God. 

Mary. How so, Mamma? 

Mamma. Suppose you had a favor to request 
of the President, or any great person, who 
allowed you to come and present it ; would it 
not be very disrespectful, and seem as though 
you were very indifferent on the subject, if all 
the time you were speaking, you were turniug 
away your head, and looking at something at 
a distance ? 

Mary. Oh, yes. Now I know what you 
mean. But I hope I shall never do that again, 
now that you are so kind and try to make me 
understand about the prayers. Will you go 
on, dear Mamma ? 

Mamma. "With great pleasure, dear child. 
Take out your Prayer-book. We left off with 
the Lord's Prayer, as you just now said. After 
that, in the first part of the Church service, 
come short verses, called versicles or responses, 
said by the priest and people alternately, de- 
claring their desire to praise God, and calling 
on Him to help them. 

Mary. Then comes such a pretty Psalm, be- 



104: mary's first going to church. 

ginning, " O come let us sing unto the Lord ;" 
is it not a Psalm, Mamma ? 

Mamma. Yes ; it is one of the Psalms of 
David, and one more beautiful or fit for us to 
use in exhorting each other to praise and wor- 
ship God could not have been chosen. It is 
also sometimes called an anthem, which means 
a song or hymn of praise, to be sung in alter- 
nate parts. 

Mary, After that Psalm we read some in 
another part of the Prayer-book. 

Mamma, Tes ; they are all so admirably 
adapted for prayer and praise, and suited for 
public worship, that the wise and good men 
who arranged our Church service, divided them 
into portions of three or four, if short; and 
fewer, if long; to be read in the morning and 
evening of each day of every month ; and cer- 
tainly no religious person can ever be tired of 
hearing or repeating them. 

Mary, After the Psalms, the clergyman 
reads parts of the Bible; does he choose what 
part it shall be? 

Mamma, No, that has been all arranged. 
Two chapters from the Bible are read in the 
morning service, and two in the evening ser- 
vice ; they are called the Lessons. For every 



OLD TESTAMENT. » 105 

Sunday and other holy days throughout the 
year, the first lessons for both morning and 
afternoon, or evening, have been chosen from 
the most important parts of the Old Testa- 
ment. 

Mary. "What do you mean by the Old Tes- 
tament ? 

Mamma. The Old Testament is that part of 
the Bible in which we find the history of the 
creation of the world, of the flood, of Abra- 
ham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Joseph, and Moses, 
and Joshua, and David, and Solomon, and 
other good men, of the Israelitish nation ; also 
the wise sayings and the wonderful prophecies 
which it pleased God to put into the minds of 
good and holy men, before the birth of Jesus 
Christ into this world. All that happened 
before that time is recorded in the Old Testa- 
ment. The New Testament is that part of the 
Bible which contains the history of Jesus 
Christ, in what are called the Gospels ; that of 
His Apostles and Disciples after He had left 
this world, in the book called the Acts ; and 
the letters called Epistles, which His Apostles 
and Disciples wrote to some of the people 
whom they had instructed in the religion of 
Christ, to assist and confirm them in their duty 



106 maey's first going to church. 

and belief; and those Epistles are still of the 
greatest use to us. For this reason, the Gos- 
pels and the Acts are appointed to be read 
regularly through, one chapter each day, for 
the second lesson of the morning service ; and 
the Epistles for the second lesson of the eve- 
ning service. 

Mary. Is it a Psalm that the clergyman and 
people read between the Lessons, beginning, 
"¥e praise Thee, O God?" 

Mamma. It is not one of David's Psalms, 
and is "usually called a Hymn ; but a Psalm 
and a Hymn have much the same meaning — a 
song of praise. I may as well tell you now, 
because you will often hear it mentioned as the 
Te Deum, that these words are the beginning 
of it in Latin, and, therefore, it has that name 
given to it. 

Mary. Why so ? 

Mamma. Because the hymn was originally 
composed and sung in Latin, more than 1,200 
years ago. 

Mary. How came that? 

Mamma. A long time ago all the Church 
service was performed in Latin, and still is so 
amongst the Roman Catholics. 

Mary. Then do all Roman Catholics learn 



TE DEUM. 107 

Latin? else they cannot understand what the 
clergyman says, nor what they say themselves. 

Mamma. That- is very true; yet I "believe 
there is not more knowledge of Latin amongst 
the Roman Catholics than amongst the Protest- 
ants. 

Mary. Then how very foolish and wrong it 
is to use a language they do not understand — 
do not you think so, Mamma? 

Mamma. My dear Mary, it is very wrong 
of you to pretend to judge and condemn others. 
Tou are much too young to understand the dif- 
ference between Eoman Catholics, or Papists, 
as they are sometimes called, and Protestants ;■ 
for this reason, the only answer that I shall 
give to your question is, that you may and 
ought to be very thankful to Almighty God 
that you live in a time and country where you 
are permitted to hear and read God's holy 
word, and to pray to and praise Him in a lan- 
guage you can understand. 

Mary. Then as I do understand English, I 
suppose I may ask you, dear Mamma, to ex- 
plain to me some words of which I do not 
know the meaning? 

Mamma. Certainly ; I think the first will be 
Cherubim and Seraphim ? 



108 maey's fiest going to church. 

Mary. Yes. "What are they? 

Mamma* Names taken from the Hebrew 
language, and given to the highest order of 
angels. 

Mary. Next, what is Sabaoth? 

Mamma. Sabaoth means hosts or armies. 
Therefore, " Lord God of Sabaoth" is express- 
ive of God's great power. 

Mary, I see in my Prayer-book, at the end 
of this beautiful Hymn, is said, "or this Canti- 
cleP What is a Canticle? 

Mamma. A holy song. 

Mary. But that Canticle has never been 
read when I have been at Church. 

Mamma. It is read sometimes, but not often. 
It is, however, a beautiful Hymn, calling on 
everything in creation to praise God. JSText 
comes the second lesson from the New Testa- 
ment — and then is appointed a beautiful hymn 
of thanksgiving to God for having given His 
Son Jesus Christ to die for us — but this is not 
so often used as the 100th Psalm, which is a 
fine exhortation to praise God ; and, set to 
music, is one of the most beautiful sacred songs 
w^e have. You will have perceived that so far 
the morning and evening services are alike ; 
except that there is not in the afternoon any 



HYMNS. 109 

Psalm before those appointed for the day, and 
that the Psalms after the Lessons are different 
from those used in the morning, and particularly 
suited for the purpose of devotion and praise. 

Mary. One of these Psalms, beginning, " O 
sing unto the Lord," I read one day in Mrs. 
Jay's Prayer-book, while I was waiting for you 
in the room behind her shop. I thought it a 
beautiful Psalm, and I believe I understood 
most of it, except two words, shawms and 
equity. 

Mamma. A shawm was a musical instru- 
ment, I believe much the same as is now called 
a hautboy. Equity means justice, impartiality. 
In this Psalm the blessings of Christ's govern- 
ment are declared, and all the world are called 
upon to rejoice and be thankful. And now, 
dear Mary, no more talking to-day, if yon 

please. 

10 



110 maey's fiest going to church. 




€\mhx SiuenUIr, 

THE APOSTLES' CEEED. 

( ART. Dear Mamma, the last time 
you talked to me about the Church 
service, you left off just when I 
thought you were going to explain 
the Belief to me. 

Mamma. Then that is where 1 
will begin now. 
Mary. I see, in the Prayer-book, it is not 
called the Belief, but the Apostles' Creed. 

Mamma. Creed means the same as Belief, 
and comes from Credo, the Latin word for / 
Oeohve. 

Mary. "Why is it called the Apostles' Creed? 
Mamma. Some have thought it was actually 
drawn up by the Apostles. That is not cer- 
tain ; but it is quite certain that it was used in 
very early times of Christianity, and that it is 
a declaration of all that the Apostles believed, 
and taught their disciples to be necessary to 
salvation. 



Ill 

Mary. But one day, when I was at Church 
with you, something else was read in that part 
of the service, instead of the Apostles' Creed. 

Mamma. Yes, the Mcene Creed, named 
from a great Council held at Nice, in Bithynia, 
in the year 325, but much earlier in use in 
churches of the East. 

Mary. But you will tell me about the Apos- 
tles' Creed. 

Mamma. Yes. And we must divide it into 
different parts, as we did the Lord's Prayer. 
Will you repeat the first part ? 

Mary. "I believe in God, the Father Al- 
mighty, Maker of heaven and earth." 

Mamma. That I think you can quite under- 
stand. 

Mary. Yes, indeed, there is no difficulty in 
that. But, Mamma, though it is of course 
quite right to repeat whatever is put in the 
Prayer-book, arranged and chosen as you said 
by wise and good men, it cannot be necessary to 
tell people we believe in God, because nobody 
can help doing so; for how could we. all be 
alive, and how could there be the world and 
all that is in it, if there was no God ? Only 
God could have made all these things. 

Mamma. You are quite right, my dear child. 



112 maey's fikst going to chtjkch. 

But it is our duty and our pleasure to praise 
God always ; and those who love Him wall joy- 
fully tell of His greatness and goodness to 
others. I think I could make this still more 
clear to you by comparison with what frequent- 
ly happens to ourselves. When your Grand- 
mamma or your Aunt returns to us, after being 
long absent, we cannot help saying to each 
other, "How glad I am to see you again!" 
though certainly neither of us have any doubt 
on the subject. 

Mary. Oh, yes, to be sure we all do. 

Mamma. Now go on with the Creed. 

Mary. " And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, 
our Lord." Mamma, why do we always bow 
or curtsey at the name of Jesus ? 

Mamma. To own his divinity and show our 
reverence for His holy name ; and because we 
are told in the Bible that at the name of Jesus 
every knee shall bow. The name of Jesus 
signifies a Saviour ; and Christ is the same as 
Messiah, which means anointed or chosen of 
God. He is our King, our Priest, and our 
Prophet, and it was the custom to anoint all 
such. The reason for our repeating that He is 
the Son of God, and our great Ruler or Gov- 
ernor, which, is the meaning of -the word Zord, 



CREED. 113 

is, that we may keep these things always in our 
minds. What comes next ? 

Mary. "Who was conceived by the Holy 
Ghost, born of the Yirgin Mary." 

Mamma. I have told you before how it 
pleased God that Jesus Christ should take the 
nature of man, and come into the world in a 
very lowly manner. There were many won- 
derful circumstances attending His birth, which 
we must be content to believe without under- 
standing, because we find them in that book of 
truth, the Bible. And we have cause to be 
very thankful to God that they are there writ- 
ten, for we certainly never could, by our own 
observation, have discovered or imagined His 
marvellous goodness in sending His own Son 
into the world to suffer for our sakes. Go on, 
dear Mary. 

Mary. " Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was 
crucified, dead, and buried." What do'es that 
mean, suffered under Pontius Pilate, and cruci- 
fied? 

Mamma. Pontius Pilate was the Roman 
governor of Judea ; and it was during the time 
of his government that Jesus Christ was put to 
death in a very cruel manner, by being nailed 
to a cross of wood. 

10* 



114 

Mary. Mamma! 

Mamma. You may well be surprised and in- 
dignant, my dear child ; nothing else in the 
world could have given us such an idea of our 
unworthiness and of God's mercy. I dare say 
you remember what I told you on Christmas 
Day, about Jesus Christ suffering for us. 

Mary. Oh, yes! you said that when Adam 
and Eve had done very wrong in eating the 
fruit which God had bidden them not to eat, He 
told them, though He was very angry with 
them, that His Son should be punished instead 
of them, and not for them only, but for every- 
body else that displeased Him and was sorry. 
"Was not that it, Mamma ? 

Mamma. Nearly so. God promised to send, 
at some future time, one into the world that 
should avenge them and all mankind of their 
great enemy, the devil ; when, in the form of a 
serpent, had deceived them, and tempted them 
to sin against God, by disobeying His com- 
mandment; and that the same divine person, 
who should be no other than God's* own and 
only Son, should suffer death for them, so as by 
His sufferings to make reconciliation unto God 
for all who should be sorry for their sin and be- 
lieve on Him. 



THE APOSTLES' CREED. 115 

Mary. But I did not know, Mamma, that 
He was to die. in such a shocking manner! 
Why should He? 

Mamma, It pleased God that His sufferings 
should be as great as possible, to show us the 
extent of our sinfulness, which rendered them 
necessary, and to fill our hearts w T ith shame for 
ourselves, and gratitude to God. 

Mary. But, Mamma, I thought God could 
never die ; and you say Jesus Christ is God, and 
the same as God. 

Mamma. As God, He certainly could not 
die. It was only the nature of man in Him 
that could die; and even over that, as you will 
presently see, death could have no lasting power. 
Go on. 

Mary. " He descended into hell, the third 
day He rose again from the dead." 

Mamma. This proves to us that the body of 
Jesus Christ certainly died ; for it w T as buried, 
and lay in a grave till the third day, that is, 
the next but one after it was placed there; 
then, by the power of God, it came to life 
again. While his body lay in the tomb, his 
soul w r as in Paradise, in Hades, or hell, the 
place of the departed spirits. What follows 
next? 



116 

Mary. " He ascended into heaven." 

Mamma. You know, I think, that descend 
means to go down, and ascend to go up. 

Mary. How did Jesus Christ go up to 
heaven ? 

Mamma. His body was taken up by the 
power of God ; and this is a proof to us that 
God can do the same with our bodies, though 
in a different manner. I think I know the 
question you will ask about the next part. 

Mary. "And sitteth on the right hand of God 
the Father Almighty." Has God hands and 
feet like ours, Mamma ? 

Mamma. That is the question I expected 
from you. We cannot suppose that the great 
Almighty Being, who reigns over the world, 
has parts or a form like ours, for God is a spirit, 
and a spirit has not flesh and blood as we have. 
The expression, to sit on the right hand, signi- 
fies being advanced to great dignity and honor, 
and power ; therefore, we are to understand, 
when it is used in this manner of our Saviour 
Jesus Christ, that He who, while on earth, held 
a very humble, lowly station, is now in heaven 
exalted to the highest, far above all principal- 
ities and powers, and every name that is named, 
whether in heaven or earth. 



THE APOSTLES ? CREED. 117 

Mary. Will He always remain there ? 

Mamma. The next clause— that is, the next 
part of a sentence — will answer your question, 
as you will perceive when you repeat it. 

Mary. "From thence He shall come to judge 
the quick and the dead." What does that 
mean, Mamma? 

Mamma. The quick means those who will 
still be living ; and the dead, those who will be 
raised up from their graves, to be judged by 
our Lord Jesus Christ at the end of the world. 
Now we come to a part of the Creed very diffi- 
cult for you to understand. 

Mary. "I believe in the Holy Ghost." 
"What does the word Ghost mean. Mamma ? 

Mamma. A spirit without a body. And we 
here declare our belief in God the Holy Ghost, 
who is in the Bible also called " the Spirit of 
Truth," and " the Comforter," and is declared 
to be God, and who, if we pray unto Him, will 
put into our hearts good desires, and enable us 
to do that which is pleasing to God, by daily 
renewing that grace which we first received 
through Him at our baptism. And here it will 
be right for me to tell you that we are express- 
ly informed in the Bible, that there are in 
heaven three persons — the Father, the Son, and 



118 mary's first going to church. 

the Holy Ghost— so entirely and indivisibly 
joined together as to be but one God 

Mary. That is very difficult to understand, 
Mamma. Do not you think so ? 

Mamma. Yes, my dear little girl, I do think 
it very difficult. But, as I have before told 
you, we must not allow ourselves to be troubled 
because we cannot understand all that is in the 
Bible. If God had thought proper that we 
should, He would have enabled us. 

Mary. The next two little bits, Mamma, I 
do not at all understand, " The Holy Catholic 
Church," " the Communion of Saints." 

Mamma. The divisions, or parts of sentences, 
that you call little bits, are usually called Articles 
of the Creed. The two you have just now men- 
tioned, relate to one and the same thing, the 
Church of Christ. The word Church in this 
place, not meaning the building within whose 
walls we meet to pray to God, but the whole 
number of people throughout the world (and 
therefore it is called Catholic, or universal), 
who have been duly baptized in the name of 
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, ac- 
cording to God's commands, and who, in after- 
life, believe and live as He by His own word, 
and his Apostles, guided by the Holy Spirit, 



CREED. 119 

taught and commanded His disciples. The 
Catholic Church is sometimes called the body 
of Christ, as St. Paul says, " We, being many, 
are one body in Christ ;" and again, " God has 
given Christ to be the head over all things to the 
Church, which is His body." And these 
words of St. Paul will teach you the meaning 
of the next part, " The Communion of Saints," 
or fellowship which all Christians, who are 
here meant by Saints, have with each other as 
members of one body or Church, of which 
Christ is the head, and His Spirit, the life ; and 
thus they have unseen communion also with 
those who have departed this life in Christ's 
fear and love, and with God the Son and God 
the Father. And this shows us how kindly we 
should behave ourselves towards all persons, 
since we are brethren of one family, called by 
one name, and all children of the same heaven- 
ly Father; and also how good and holy we 
should be in our lives, since we are members 
of Christ, and through Him by the Spirit have 
access to the Father. The next article, " The 
Forgiveness of Sins," will, I think, be easier to 
you. 

Mary. Yes, indeed, because you have taught 
me and made me feel sure that God will not 



120 mary's first going to church. 

consider what we really deserve, but will for- 
give us all our sins, however great they may 
be, for the sake of Jesus Christ, if we are really 
sorry for them, and believe on Him. 

Mamma. That is all quite rightly expressed, 
my dear little girl. And you know too, I think, 
what is the meaning of the next article, " The 
Resurrection of the Dead ?" 

Mary. Yes; you have told me that our 
bodies are to rise again at the last day, and to 
go to heaven or to hell, according as our lives 
have been good or wicked. But, Mamma, how 
can that be? Because I thought when dead 
bodies were buried in the ground they all 
crumbled away, and in time turned to dust. 
And you know, in that dreadful fire that hap- 
pened a little while ago, some of the women 
and children could not be got out of the houses, 
and were burned to death, and it was said, that 
only a few bones could be found, and that it 
was impossible to make out to whom they be- 
longed. 

Mamma. That is all very true; but you 
must remember, dear Mary, that it cannot be 
more difficult for God to bring together and 
revive — that is, make alive again — the parts of 
a body, however scattered and destroyed, than 



THE APOSTLES' CEEED. 121 

to make them originally out of nothing. You 
could not suppose, if you did not know it, that 
those beautiful peacocks you admire so much, 
and the poultry you are so fond of feeding, 
could have come from an egg^ a shell filled 
with that soft white and yellow stuff, of which 
you like your Papa to give you a taste some- 
times at his breakfast. Nor would you have 
easily believed that the pretty butterflies you 
see sporting about so happily in the air on a 
fine summer's day, could once have been cater- 
pillars, crawling on the ground, if you had not 
seen that your Cousin Ferdinand's silkworms 
each turned to a chrysalis inside the web of 
silk it had spun, and out of this chrysalis, 
which looked like a case wrapped round a body 
without life, crept a moth of quite a different 
shape from the worm it was before, with wings 
and horns. All this you have seen, and there- 
fore when you recollect this, it cannot, I think, 
seem to you difficult to believe, that by the 
power of God we may rise again, either with 
the same bodies, or with others like to them. 

Mary. No, dear Mamma, I can believe that 

God in His great power and goodness can do 

anything He pleases. And I think it is very 

good of Him to let us see and know of so many 

11 



122 MARY S FIRST GOING TO CHURCH. 

•wonderful things, that we may be able to think 
that He can do others as wonderful. 

Mamma. Of the only part that remains of 
the Creed, "And the life everlasting," I need 
not say mnch, as I have before told you, that 
we know, because it is plainly declared to us 
in many parts of the Bible, that when we rise 
again at the end of the world, it will be to 
a never-ending life, and that our sentence, 
whether it be of happiness or misery, can never 
change. Of what vast importance will it be 
then, that our actions and our thoughts, during 
this life, should have been such that w^e may 
hope, through the goodness of our blessed Sa- 
viour, that our portion w x ill be w T ith Him in 
heaven. 




COLLECTS. 



123 



Adaptor Seimttnntjr. 




COLLECTS — ANTHEM — SINGING PSALMS. 

I ART.' Mamma, can you remember 
the time when you were a little girl 
like me ? 

Mamma. Perfectly, my dear. 
But why do you ask me that ques- 
tion ? 

Mary. Because I was thinking 
you did not know how pleasant it is to me for 
you to explain things I did not understand be- 
fore. 

Mamma. Yes, dear Mary, I can quite recol- 
lect how much I was puzzled by many things ; 
and how glad I was when I had learned their 
meanings and reasons and uses. And that is 
what makes me anxious that you should have 
the same satisfaction. 

Mary. What a good thing it is that all 
grown-up people were once little children ! be- 
cause they can know exactly what little chil- 
dren like and dislike, and what makes them glad 



124: mart's first going to church. 

and sorry ; else, perhaps, the grown-up people 
might be very good-natured, and wish to make 
the little children happy, but would not know 
how. 

Mamma. And what a very comfortable 
thing it is for both little children and grown-up 
people to bear in mind, whatever their troubles 
and distresses and difficulties nlay be, that our 
blessed Lord Jesus Christ thoroughly knows 
and understands them, from having taken our 
nature upon Him ; and we may feel quite sure, 
from His goodness and power, that He will re- 
lieve us from them in whatever manner He 
sees best. 

Mary. But do you think He really felt as we 
do? 

Mamma. I am quite sure of it, Mary ; be- 
cause we are told in the Bible that He was in 
every respect like us, except that He was with- 
out sin, which cannot be said of any of us. 

Mary. Well now, Mamma, if you recollect 
how you felt when you were a little girl, you 
will know that I should like you very much, if 
you please, to go on talking about the Church . 
service. 

Mamma. I will with great pleasure, my dear 
child. "We left off with the Creed. After that 



COLLECTS. 125 

the minister and the congregation beg for 
God's blessing on each other. Then they all 
kneel down to pray, and begin by asking God's 
mercy, and repeating some sentences taken 
from the Psalms, and which are short prayers. 

Mary. Then come some rather longer pray- 
ers, called the Collects. What does Collect 
mean? 

Mamma. The word Collect means a short 
prayer. And yon will see that all the prayers 
to which that title is affixed are short. The 
first collect in this place— " except when the 
Communion Service is read" — is that chosen 
for the day ; for there is a different collect ap- 
pointed for every Sunday and every remarkable 
holy day throughout the year, and which has 
generally some reference either to what is 
then commemorated, or to the portion of Scrip- 
ture appointed then to be read. Next follows 
a prayer for peace. 

Mary. But, Mamma, there is no war now. 

Mamma. It is the peace of God in our souls, 
being the comfort He gives to those who love 
and try to please Him ; and also peace and 
quietness with our neighbors, that we pray for. 

Mary. I see the next prayer is called a Col- 
lect for Grace ; what does that mean ? 
11* 



126 mary's first going to church. 

Mamma. The grace of God, which we pray 
Him to infuse into our minds ; that we may be 
filled with all good thoughts and desires, and 
disposed to all good actions. 

Mary. After that, Mamma, there are a few 
prayers in the morning and evening services 
exactly the same ; but in the morning, we turn 
over the leaves of the Prayer-book, and go to 
another part called the Litany. Why is that ? 

Mamma. The Litany, which means a suppli- 
cation, is appointed to- be read in the mornings 
of Sundays, and also of Wednesdays and Fri- 
days, if there are prayers on those days, as 
they are considered the principal days of the 
week, because it asks for all kinds of blessings 
for all sorts of men more at length than in the 
prayers. You will doubtless observe that there 
are some repetitions in the service ; and I must 
tell you that this is, in a great degree, accounted 
for by the circumstance, that formerly the part 
which is commonly called the Morning Prayer, 
was read at one time, the Litany at another, 
and the Communion Service with the sermon 
at another. Why they are now all joined to- 
gether, it is not necessary for us to inquire into. 

Mary. There is not anything said in the 
Prayer-book about singing at the end of the 



SINGING PSALMS. 127 

Litany, but there always is a Psalm sung at 
that time. 

Mamma, Yes. Thajt has become a custom, 
and a very good custom it is. It appears that 
in all times, and among all people, singing has 
made a part of the worship of God; and if it 
is done properly, it certainly helps to raise our 
thoughts to God. 

Mary. Why do not all the people sing ? 

Mamma. Every one ought ; for if it is right 
for some, it must be for all. The reason that 
many give for not doing it, is that they do not 
know how. 

Mary. Yes. One day I asked Jane, and she 
said, she had never learned to sing, and if she 
were to try, she should make such a disagree- 
able noise, it would frighten everybody. 

Mamma. That is quite a mistake ; for by 
only taking care not to sing loud, there would 
be no risk of interfering with those who do 
know how to sing properly, and anybody join- 
ing with them, with a little practice would be 
able to do it very tolerably. But as more pains 
are taken now than formerly, to teach psalm- 
singing in churches and schools, w r e may hope 
that, in a few years, all the congregation will 
join as with one voice to sing praises to God; 



128 



MARY S FIRST GOING TO CHURCH. 



and also that it may become here, as it is in Ger- 
many, a very usual practice for the people to 
sing Psalms and Hymns for their own gratifica- 
tion. And here, if you please, we will end our 
conversation to-day. 




LITANY. 129 



ajftu ^igfttMittft. 



LITANY. 




I AET. Are you going to explain the 
Litany to me, dear Mamma ? 

Mamma, I do not think it need- 
ful at present to explain to you every 
part of it; but I am sure, when you 
are older, you will admire it very 
much. 

Mary. I do admire it now, Mamma, and I 
think it sounds so grand to hear all the people 
in the Church saying together, "Good Lord, 
deliver us," and " "We beseech Thee to hear us, 
good Lord." 

Mamma. It is a most comfortable thought 
to my mind, and ought to bind us more closely 
to our fellow-creatures, to reflect that, at the 
very same time, there are thousands in every 
country where our blessed religion is known, 
offering up the same petitions to the God of 
mercy. 

Mary. But, Mamma, though you said you 



130 mart's first going to church. 

should not explain every part of tile Litany, I 
should like you very much to answer me one 
or two questions. 

Mamma. "What are they, dear little girl? 

Mary. One is about sedition, heresy, and 
schism. When I was with you at the school 
on Tuesday, Mr. Turner was explaining the 
Litany to the school-children, and he asked 
them if they knew the meaning of those words, 
but you came away before the explanation. 
Pray do give it me now, Mamma. 

Mamma. I will ; and I think you will imme- 
diately perceive that we have great reason to 
pray to God to guajd us from them. Sedition, 
means acts against the government, which 
would be the cause of great confusion and 
trouble in the country. Heresy, is holding 
opinions and asserting them in opposition to 
the Church. And Schism is causing divisions 
in the Church and separating ourselves from it. 

Mary. Then the next sentence, Mamma, 
"By the mystery of Thy holy incarnation." 
What does that mean ? 

Mamma. Incarnation means our Saviour's 
taking upon Him our human form and nature ; 
in fact, allowing His divine Spirit to be clothed 
with our flesh ; which is indeed a great mys- 



LITANY. 131 

tery, very difficult to be understood. And in 
this part of the Litany, it seems as if we took 
the liberty of reminding God of all that He 
has done for us, and wished to express that we 
know we have no right to expect Him to grant 
us our petitions; but that we venture to do so, 
knowing that Jesus Christ has obtained for us 
the pardon of our sins ; and with this encour- 
agement we indulge the hope that we and our 
prayers shall be accepted by Almighty God. 

Mary. "What is a magistrate ? 

Mamma. A person who has authority to 
settle disputes between others, and to take care 
that all things are done according to the laws. 

Mary. Then there is one other thing I want 
to ask you about, in that and some other parts 
of the service. 

Mamma. What is that, my dear girl ? 

Mary. I have heard you say sometimes, 
Mamma, that all persons, high and low, rich 
and poor, are alike in the sight of God. Why 
then should we at Church pray for rulers and 
magistrates more than other people, or, at 
least, separately from them ? 

Mamma. Remember, my dear Mary, that 
our praying for them is not as an honor or a 
compliment done to them. But their safety, 



132 maey's first goixg- to church. 

their prosperity, and, above all, their good con- 
duct, is of very great importance to ns ; and 
therefore it is that we pray God to have them 
in His holy keeping, and to guide them aright 
in all things. 

Mary. Then I suppose it is for the same 
reason that we pray in the Litany for Bishops, 
Priests, and Deacons ? 

Mamma. Certainly. 

Mary. When we come to that part where 
sick persons and young children are mentioned, 
I always think of those poor people in the vil- 
lage who are ill, and of my little baby sister, and 
cousins. 

Mamma. That is quite right to think of and 
pray for those that seem most to need help from 
on high, and who cannot ask it for themselves. 

Mary. "What does the Lamb of God mean ? 

Mamma. It is an appellation frequently 
given in the Bible to our Saviour Jesus Christ, 
both because He resembled a lamb in gentle- 
ness, and for another reason which I will tell 
you at a future time. 

Mary. There are some prayers over leaf after 
the end of the morning service. Why are they 
not put into it with the rest ? 

Mamma. They are only occasional prayers, 



litaint. 133 

directed, as you may see, to be read before the 
two final prayers of the Litany, or the Morning 
and Evening Prayer, according as they may be 
wanted. There is one for rain, when we have 
been so long without any, that we have cause 
to fear bad consequences may ensue — another 
for fair weather, when it appears to us that 
there has been too much rain. For you must 
remember, that though we must not presume 
to judge what is best, and to tell God, as it 
w r ere, what ought to be, yet that He has com- 
manded us to pray to Him for what we want. 
So of some others ; and a prayer for Congress, 
which is only read while Congress is in session. 

Mary. I wish Papa was a member of Con- 
gress. 

Mamma, Why so, Mary ? 

Mary. Because, then, everybody in the 
churches would pray for him. 

Mamma. But, my dear little girl, we do not 
pray for the Congress men ; but as they are the 
persons who make the laws, and settle the great 
business of the country, we pray God to direct 
their consultations, and enable them to do 
what will be best for the glory of God and the 
good of all the nation. After these prayers 
comes a general thanksgiving, which is always 
12 



134: maey's first going- to chttrch. 

used, and with great reason, for there is not a 
more beautiful and fitting address to our Al- 
mighty Father in the whole Prayer-book. 

Mary. But, Mamma, though many of us 
have just cause to thank God for our creation, 
preservation, and all the blessings of life, there 
are some that have not, who are very poor, and 
ill, and wretched. "Would it not be better that 
they had never been born ? 

Mamma, That we must never presume to 
say. We may be sure that God knows and 
orders what is best for every one of His crea- 
tures. If we considered this world and the 
ease of our bodies, we might, indeed, think it 
would have been better for some not to have 
been born — but every child of man has an im- 
mortal soul, for which God has been pleased 
to provide an eternity of happiness, if we will 
but accept the conditions on which he has offer- 
ed it to us, namely, repentance of our sins, 
and trust in the inestimable price paid for it by 
the blood of Jesus Christ. And the meanest 
and most wretched human creature has as 
much cause as those apparently most highly 
favored, to praise and thank God for His al- 
most inconceivable goodness, in having sent 
His Son Jesus Christ into the world, to teach 






LITANY. 135 

and set us an example of all that is good, and 
to die for us, that we might be spared from the 
punishment justly due to our sins. 

Mary. After the General Thanksgiving we 
have two prayers at the end of the Litany, or 
the morning or evening service. 

Mamma. Yes, and very good they are, as 
the conclusion of this part of the service. 

Mary. One is called the Prayer of St. Chry- 
sostom. Was he one of the Apostles ? 

Mamma. No. He was a very pious man, 
and eloquent preacher, who lived between three 
and four hundred years after Christ. In this 
prayer, which he is said to have composed, we 
are reminded of a very gracious promise made 
by Jesus to His disciples, that where two or 
three should be gathered together in His name, 
there would He be in the midst of them; that 
is, they might feel sure He would mercifully 
attend to their prayers, and that is a strong 
reason for us to join together in praying to 
Him. 

Mary. The last prayer does not, like most 
of the others, begin with u O Lord !" or " O 
God !" and end with " through Jesus Christ 
our Lord." 

Mamma. No. It is the less blessing, or an 



136 MARY S FIRST GOING TO CHURCH. 

earnest wish, and, at the same time, a pray- 
er by the minister, that it may please God to 
view with favor, and grant His blessing to the 
congregation assembled to worship Him. Now 
we will leave off talking, as we are come to the 
end of this part of the service. 




THE COMMUNION SERVICE. 137 




THE COMMUNION SEEVICE THE FIBST EOUE COMMAND- 
MENTS. 

ARY. Mamma, while the people are 
singing the Psalm after the Litany, 
the clergyman goes to another part 
of the Church. 

Mamma. Yes; to what is called 
the Communion Table, and to read 
there the Communion service. I 
cannot now explain to you the meaning of this 
word Communion, because it relates to what 
you are much too young to understand. I can 
only tell you, at present, that this is considered 
the most solemn part of the Church service, 
and that the priest goes, therefore, to read it 
from the Communion Table, because that is 
considered the most sacred part of the Church. 
Mary. Now, if you please, Mamma, will you 
tell me something about the collect that imme- 
diately follows the Lord's Prayer, in the Com- 
munion Office. 

12* 



138 mary's fiest going to church. 

Mamma. I do not think it requires any ex- 
planation. It is a beautiful little prayer, and 
particularly fit for this place in the service-; 
asking God, who sees everything in our hearts, 
to fill them with His Holy Spirit, that we may 
have none but good thoughts, while the priest 
is declaring to us God's holy will in the Com- 
mandments that immediately follow. 

Mary. Then the clergyman turns to the peo- 
ple and speaks in a loud voice, as if he was 
quite determined that everybody in the Church 
should hear what he is saying. 

Mamma. That is exactly the case, and very 
proper it is that he should do so, as he is declar- 
ing to the congregation the commandments 
which God Himself was pleased to give to His 
servant Moses for the observance of the Israel- 
ites. And they are no less binding on us, as is 
evident by our Lord Jesus Christ constantly 
referring to them. 

Mary. How good it was of God to give His 
people these Commandments, that they might 
be quite sure what they ought to do to please 
Him! 

Mamma. Yes ; and with what reverence we 
ought to listen to the recital of them ! and how 
earnestly we should join in the prayer after 



THE FIRST FOUR COMMANDMENTS. 139 

each to the Lord to have mercy upon us, and 
incline our hearts to keep this law ! 

Mary. But, Mamma, I do not think I quite 
understand all the Commandments. 

Mamma. Let us go regularly through them. 

Mary. " God spake these words, and said, I 
am the Lord thy God : thou shalt have no other 
gods but me." I suppose that Commandment 
was only given for the heathens, who you told 
me were so foolish and ignorant, that they fan- 
cied there were a great many gods, and wor- 
shipped them. 

Mamma. It was, in the first instance, ad- 
dressed to the Israelites, to warn them against 
falling into the same sins of idolatry as the hea- 
then nations who were living near and about 
them. But if we do not constantly bear in 
mind that there is one only true God who is 
above all, and testify our love and reverence 
for Him by our desire to please Him and our 
fear to offend Him, we shall be breaking the 
first Commandment ; for behaving as if we did 
not know that there is a great and just God, is 
as bad as denying Him : and we shall be much 
worse than the heathens, who do not know 
Him. 

Mary. The second Commandment is one of 



140 mary's FIRST GOIN t G TO CHURCH. 

those I can least understand. " Thou shalt not 
make to thyself any graven image, nor the 
likeness of anything that is in heaven above, 
or in the earth beneath, or in the waters under 
the earth. Thou shalt not bow down to them, 
nor worship them ; for I, the Lord thy God, am 
a jealous God, and visit the sins of the fathers 
upon the children, unto the third and fourth 
generation of them that hate me, and show 
mercy unto thousands of them that love me, 
and keep my Commandments." 

Mamma. This was especially addressed like- 
wise to the Israelites, and may, at first sight, 
appear as if it had reference only to them, lest, 
as I said about the first Commandment, they 
should be led away by the idolatrous nations, 
particularly the Egyptians, to worship the 
images of various creatures, even beasts, birds, 
and fishes, which they made their gods. God 
has declared that this sin would certainly bring 
down His anger upon them, so that their chil- 
dren and children's children must also suffer 
from it ; though He, at the same time, makes 
the gracious declaration, that He will show 
mercy to thousands of those who love Him, 
and keep His Commandments. But we can 
not be considered by God innocent of the 



THE FIEST FOUR COMMAISTDMEHTS. 141 

transgression of this law, if we suffer any 
creature or thing to occupy in our hearts that 
place which God alone should hold. 

Mary. I think I know something about the 
third Commandment: "Thou shalt not take 
the name of the Lord thy God in vain ; for the 
Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh 
His name in vain." Because one day when we 
were out walking, as we passed by two women, 
who where talking together, one told the other 
something which seemed to surprise her very 
much, and she cried out, " Good God !" "When 
we had walked on a little way, Serlis said, 
"How sad it is to hear people take the name 
of God in vain !" Then I asked her, "How it 
could be wrong to call God good?" And she 
told me, that was not what she meant, but that 
it was very wrong to use that great name on 
trifling occasions, and when people meant 
nothing by it. 

Mamma. Serlis was quite right in what she 
told you. And I do not think that any one 
who felt properly about our great Creator and 
Governor could speak of Him, or make use of 
His name, without great reverence. But I do 
not break this Commandment when I say, 
" God bless you!" to my dear little girl, because 



142 mary's first going to church. 

I always bear in mind that she can not prosper 
in soul or body without God's blessing ; and 
that is what I earnestly wish and desire for her. 
N"or is this the only duty to be learned from 
the third Commandment. We ought not either 
to speak lightly or jokingly of anything that is 
connected with God or His service. 

Mary. The fourth Commandment is all about 
keeping Sunday properly, is it not, Mamma ? 

Mamma, Yes ; and I should like you to read 
it through; perhaps there may be some parts 
you do not quite understand. 

Mary. " Remember that thou keep holy the 
Sabbath-day. Six days shalt thou labor and do 
all that thou hast to do ; but the seventh day 
is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou 
shalt do no manner of work, thou, and thy son, 
and thy daughter, thy man-servant, and thy 
maid-servant, thy cattle, and the stranger that 
is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord 
made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in 
them is, and rested the seventh day, wherefore 
the Lord blessed the seventh day, and hallowed 
it." I should like to ask you some questions, 
if you please, Mamma. 

Mamma. I thought so, and therefore desired 
you to read it. 



THE FIRST FOUR COMMANDMENTS. 143 

Mary. In the first place, why does this Com- 
mandment begin differently from the others, 
" Remember?" 

Mamma, Perhaps to impress it more strong- 
ly ; for obedience to this Commandment is not 
only of importance in itself, but leads to the 
observance of all the others; for it can hardly 
be conceived, that any person who spends the 
Lord's Day properly, attends divine service, 
and both prays and listens devoutly to what is 
there read and preached, can on the other days 
of the week do much wrong. 

Mary. Why was the seventh day called the 
Sabbath? 

Mamma. Sabbath means, day of rest; and 
it is so called, because, as is mentioned in this 
Commandment, after God had spent six days in 
making the world and all things in it, He rested 
on the seventh day ; and ordered that it should 
always be kept holy in remembrance of this. 

Mary. But, Mamma, God could not want 
rest ; He could not be tired of work, like a man. 

Mamma. No, my love. JRest, in this place, 
only means ceasing from work. 

Mary. Mamma, one Saturday as we were 
walking past a shop, where we often see very 
pretty furniture, and other things, it was shut 



144 mart's first goikg to church. 

up ; and Serlis said, that it was because it is a 
Jew's shop ; and Saturday is to the Jews as 
Sunday is to us. 

Mamma. Tes; the Jews keep the seventh 
day of the week holy, according to the original 
Commandment of God. There was a reason 
for changing afterwards to the first day of the 
week, which I shall tell you a little while' 
hence. But I think the meaning was rather 
one day in seven, than actually the seventh 
day of the week. It is a very merciful ordi- 
nance of our heavenly Father, for the bodies 
of men and beasts would be quite worn out in 
a short time with incessant labor ; and it is to 
be feared, that if there were not these stated 
periods for the peculiar worship of God, and 
reading and meditating, that is, thinking seri- 
ously, about His holy word, a very great many 
would think very little about Him or His laws ; 
which is a subject of much greater importance 
than the repose and refreshment of our bodies. 
As these first four Commandments relate to the 
duties we owe particularly to God, and the 
other six to those He has enjoined us to per- 
form towards our fellow-creatures, this will be 
a good point for us to cease for the present 
from talking on the subject. 



THE LAST SIX COM^IANDMENTS. 14-5 




THE LAST SIX COMMANDMENTS. 

AMMA. Are you disposed, my 
daughter, to bring your Prayer-book, 
and have a little talk with nie about 
the Church service? 

Mary. Oh, yes ! dear Mamma. 
You told me about four of the Com- 
mandments, and said they were to 
teach us our duty to God. 

Mamma. Then, now I will endeavor to ex- 
plain to you the remainder of the Decalogue. 
Mary. What do you mean, Mamma? 
Mamma. Decalogue, coming from a Greek 
word, signifying ten things spoken, is the name 
which is often given to .the Ten Command- 
ments, and I am glad I happened to use it then, 
as now you will know its meaning, if you 
should hear it again. 

Mary. What a number of new words I have 
learned ! 

Mamma. And a number of new things, 
13 



14:6 MAEY ? S FIKST GOING TO CHIJKCH. 

more important than words, which I hope you 
will never forget. 

Mary. I shall try to remember all you teach 
me, and I think I shall, for I do like it so very 
much; and I feel that I ought to remember 
and do all that my own dear good Mamma 
tells me. 

Mamma. I think then you will easily under- 
stand the fifth Commandment, " Honor thy 
father and thy mother ; that thy days may be 
long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth 
thee." This is the first of those six Command- 
ments which teach us our duty to our fellow- 
creatures. 

Mary. Honor means to respect and obey, 
does it not, Mamma? And I am sure I shall 
always respect and obey you and Papa, you 
are so very kind to me ! 

Mamma. But, Mary, if you were so unfortu- 
nate as to have parents who were not very kind 
to you, it would still be your duty to honor 
them, for God does not say, if they are good 
and hind. 

Mary. But, Mamma, there are some bad 
people in the world, you say; and if they have 
children, and tell their children to do wrong, 
must the children obey them ? 



THE LAST SIX COMMANDMENTS. 147 

Mamma. You have supposed what is cer- 
tainly a possible case, but I hope not one of 
frequent occurrence. When it does happen, if 
the children are quite sure it is wrong, it will 
certainly be their duty to obey God rather than 
man. But in no case should they treat their 
parents disrespectfully. It has often happened 
that children, who have had the advantage of 
being better taught than their parents, have by 
their firmness and gentleness been the blessed 
means of bringing their parents to a better 
sense of God's goodness, and a more strict ob- 
servance of His laws. 

Mary. Mamma, why to the command, 
"Honor thy father and thy mother," is there 
added, " that thy days may be long in the land 
which the Lord thy God giveth thee ?" 

Mamma. These Commandments were given 
to the Israelites, while they were wandering in 
the wilderness, and before they had entered 
the land of Canaan, which God had promised 
to give them, and to which they were looking 
forward with earnest desire. God made the 
enjoyment of that good land to depend on 
the obedience of children to their parents, and 
thus proves of what great importance it is in 
His sight. Religious obedience to parents will 



148 mary's first Goma to church. 

also cherish, those habits which tend to insure 
long life. 

Mary. The next three Commandments are 
very short ; and I do not think they much sig- 
nify to me, for I can not "do murder," I am not 
likely to "steal," and I do not know what is 
meant by "commit adultery." 

Mamma. The last you have mentioned, the 
seventh, you cannot well understand at present, 
therefore we will say nothing about it. It is 
very true that you may be tempted to a direct 
breach of the other two ; but if we are desirous 
of obeying God's laws strictly, we shall be very 
careful never to do anything that can in any 
way injure our fellow-creatures; for malice and 
wrath have the spirit of murder ; and we shall 
remember that not only we must not take that 
which belongs to another, but be as attentive 
not to damage the property of others as if it 
were our own. 

Mary. Oh, then, that is the reason Papa 
said, when we were looking at some pictures 
one day, " Take very great care of that book, 
because it is not mine — it has been lent to me." 
And I know you are always afraid of dirtying 
or crumpling any of the linen-draper's or silk- 
mercer's goods that are sent for you to look at. 



THE LAST SIX COMMANDMENTS. 149 

Mamma. Certainly. If I were to spoil them, 
I should consider myself as dishonest as if I 
kept any without paying for them. 

Mary. Now for the ninth Commandment: 
" Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy 
neighbor." What is bearing false witness ? 

Mamma. Saying anything that is untrue, 
particularly if it is to the disadvantage of our 
neighbor. 

Mary. I know that it is very wrong to say 
what is not true, arid I heard Papa say about 
the groom he sent away a little while ago, "I. 
can never trust that man, because he has told 
me so many falsehoods." 

Mamvia. Tes; it is as unwise as it is wicked 
to deviate from the truth ; for those who do so 
are never believed. And we must be sure that 
falsehood is very hateful in the sight of God, 
because it is frequently mentioned in the Bible 
in the strongest terms of condemnation ; and 
we are told that Satan, or the devil, is the 
father of lies. 

Mary. I am sure I shall never break that 
Commandment, because you and Papa have 
always told me to speak the truth, and I 
always do. 

Mamma. Be not too confident, Mary. I am 
13* 



150 maey's first going to church. 

persuaded that you would not tell a premedi- 
tated falsehood ; and equally so, that you would 
not intentionally injure any one ; but I am not 
so sure that you have not this very day incurred 
in some degree the guilt of breaking the ninth 
Commandment. 

Mary. Oh, Mamma ! how can you say such 
a thing ? 

Mamma. I suppose you have not forgotten 
what happened about the shilling your Uncle 
had borrowed from Serlis, and gave to you 
yesterday to repay her ? 

Mary. Oh, yes ! Mamma ; I know it was 
very careless of me to leave it on the table, and 
to think no more about it. But what had that 
to do with the ninth Commandment ? 

Mamma. Instead of taking blame to your- 
self, as you have now done, very properly, you 
exclaimed, " Oh, that naughty, tiresome house- 
maid ! she has taken away my shilling !" Was 
not that unjustly blaming an innocent person? 

Mary. But, Mamma, I did not know that 
you had put it in your work-box, so I thought 
Martha must have taken it away. 

Mamma. Your not knowing what was be- 
come of it, was no reason for concluding that 
any one had committed a theft. It did not sig- 



THE LAST SIX COMMANDMENTS. 151 

nify, as it happened that only,youi Papa, your 
Uncle, and I were in the room ; but if a stran- 
ger had heard what you said, he might have 
concluded that Martha was not considered to be . 
an honest person ; and if she had soon after left 
this place, it might have prevented her getting 
another. 

Mary. How sorry I should have been for 
that ! 

Mamma. Yes. But your sorrow could not 
have compensated for the injury your thought- 
less speech might have done her. Learn from 
this how careful a guard it is necessary to put 
on your tongue, especially when speaking of 
others. 

Mary. However, Martha is not my neighbor. 
And Mrs. Wyckoff can not break either the 
ninth or tenth Commandment; for when she 
was staying here last week, she said she quite 
envied you having so many pleasant people 
living near you, whereas, at the place where 
she lives in the country, there are no neigh- 
bors. 

Mamma. If that is your notion of neighbors, 
my child, I am glad you have made the observ- 
ation, that I may not suffer you to continue 
longer in error. When we talk of our duty 



152 MAKTS FIRST GOING TO CHURCH. 

to our neighbors, it does not mean a person liv- 
ing near to us, but any person, however distant, 
with whom we have any sort of dealing or 
intercourse ; therefore, when we are told in the 
tenth Commandment, "Thou shalt not covet 
thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy 
neighbor's wife, nor his servant, nor his maid, 
nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is his," 
we are to understand that it applies to all per- 
sons and things whatsoever. 

Mary. "What does covet mean ? 

Mamma. To wish for earnestly, and desire 
to get for ourselves. 

Mary. But, Mamma, how can we help wish- 
ing for things that we have not, and know 
would be very useful and pleasant for us. 

Mamma. We certainly may not be able to 
prevent the wish rising in our minds, but we 
can prevent ourselves giving way to it, and 
dwelling on it. I think I can make you feel 
and understand this. Let us suppose that some 
friend of ours were to give your Cousin Ange- 
lina a dissected map of Europe, which you had 
been wishing for, and to you a box of spilli- 
kins. It might be very natural for you, at the 
first moment, to wish that you had the map of 
Europe ; but would it not be your own fault, 



THE LAST SIX COMMANDMENTS. 153 

and a very great fault, if, instead of being 
grateful to the kind lady who had given 
you the spillikins, and amusing yourself with 
them, you grumbled and refused to play with 
them, or to help Angelina in putting together 
her map, and finding the places on it ? 

Mary. Oh, yes ! but I should not do that. 

Mamma. I hope you would not; but, as I 
have said before, it is dangerous to trust in our 
own strength; and the most effectual means 
of guarding against such a bad temper as I 
have described, is to endeavor to be always 
contented and pleased with whatever we have, 
and to remember that God knows what is best 
for us, and will order all things accordingly. 

Mary. I will try. But pray tell me, 
Mamma, why it is said, " nor his ox, nor his 
ass?" I think if Papa coveted anything, it 
would be a nice horse, for I often hear him say, 
" I should like to have that horse !" while few 
people care much about an ass. 

Mamma. The words that follow, "or any- 
thing that is his," show that the Command- 
ment is intended to extend to every sort of 
thing ; but the ox and the ass are particularly 
mentioned, because those were the animals 
most in use with the Israelites, to whom these 



154 ma-ry's first going to church. 

Commandments were first given ; they had no 
horses, but used asses instead of them. 

Mary. I suppose in the last answer given by 
the congregation, "write these laws in our 
hearts," means, make us remember them. 

Mamma. Not only that ; but we also pray 
God, by the means of His Holy Spirit, to give 
us and all other persons, an earnest desire to 
obey these laws, and strength to act according 
to them. Now, I think we must leave till an- 
other day what remains to be said on the sub 
ject of the Church service. 




COLLECT. 155 




CIp$tw ©hunts-first. 

COLLECT — EPISTLE — GOSPEL — PEAYEB EOE CHEIST's CHUECH 
MILITANT. 

( AMMA. If you attend to what you 
learn while you are young, Mary, 
and go on improving and gaining 
information from what kind friends 
teach, and from your own reading 
and observation, you will be able to 
teach young persons yourself when 
you are grown. 

Mary. I might teach some other little chil- 
dren, who might be orphans, or whose parents 
might not be able to teach them as you and 
Papa do me. 

Mamma. Certainly. I am very glad that 
you have now the notion of being useful to 
your fellow-creatures ; and I trust the desire 
will continue, if it should please Crocl to give 
you the means. 

Mary. Then I might be like that kind, good' 



156 maey's fiest going to chuech. 

natured Miss Chesney, I am always so glad to 
see when she comes to visit you ; and one day 
yon made her laugh, because you said she had 
many more children than any of your friends 
who were married. 

Mamma. She does indeed supply, in a great 
measure, the place of a mother to many, and is 
so kind and gives such good advice to young 
people, that all who know her must love and 
respect her. 

Mary. Well, then, Mamma, will you be so 
kind now as to explain the rest of the Church 
service to me, that I may know how to do so 
to my young friends ? 

Mamma. We have not much remaining. 
We left off with the Commandments. After 
them there is a prayer that God would help 
us to keep them, and live according to His 
laws. Bext follow the Collect, Epistle, and 
Gospel appointed for the day. The Collect, 
you will remember, is read with some others in 
a former part of the service, when the Com- 
munion Office is not used. The Epistle is a 
short portion taken from some of the letters of 
advice written by the Apostles of Jesus Christ, 
in the course of years after He had left this 
world, and they had, in pursuance to His direc- 



EPISTLE. 157 

tions, converted many persons in various coun- 
tries to Christianity. The Gospel, as its name 
tells you, is part of the history of Jesus Christ, 
taken from the writings of those four Evange- 
lists, who recorded it. You may, perhaps, not 
now be capable of tracing the connexion be- 
tween the appointed Collect, Epistle, and Gos- 
pel for each particular Sunday or remarkable 
day ; but hereafter, when you can understand 
them better, you will find that such a connex- 
ion does exist, and that each will assist you in 
understanding the others. 

Mary. Why do not the Collects, Epistles, 
and Gospels in the Prayer-book begin with the 
beginning of the year ? I remember Christ- 
mas Day was quite at the end of last year, but 
here are the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel for 
that day put very near the beginning. 

Mamma. The ecclesiastical year, that is, the 
year of the Church, begins with Advent Sun- 
day, which is about a month before Christmas. 
Advent means coming. As the coming of 
Jesus Christ was the greatest and most import- 
ant event that ever happened in this world, it 
is very fit it should be the first celebrated ; and 
that we should be preparing ourselves for it a 
little time before, and that our thoughts should 
14 



158 mart's first going to church. 

be at the same time led to His second coming, 
to judge all mankind at the end of the world. 
I may as well point out to you now that the 
Collects, Epistles, and Gospels from Advent 
Sunday to Trinity Sunday refer generally to 
some remarkable circumstance in our Lord's 
history, particularly connected with the work 
of our redemption; those after that time record 
and illustrate some miracle performed by Him, 
or some doctrine taught by Him, either plainly 
and directly, or through His parables, which 
are like little stories of supposed events, teach- 
ing us much important truth. 

Mary. There is a great deal of the Bible read 
at Church. 

Mamma. Tes. If any person who could not 
read were to attend Church regularly, and 
listen attentively, he would hear every Sunday 
four chapters, besides the Psalms and a small 
portion in the Epistle and Gospel. 

Mary. After the Gospel there is some more 
singing, and then the sermon, which you told 
me about before. But, Mamma, one day when 
I went with you to a different Church, there 
was another Prayer read, which I never heard 
before or since. 

Mamma. You mean the Prayer for Christ's 



PRAYER FOR CHRIST^ CHURCH MILITANT. 159 

Church militant, which some clergymen read 
in this place, and some do not. 

Mary. What is the meaning of the word 
militant ? 

Mamma. Militant properly means fighting. 

Mary. Oh, but, Mamma, people belonging 
to the Church do not fight ! 

Mamma. On the contrary, the clergy are 
called the ministers of peace. But fighting is 
not the real meaning in this place of the word 
militant; the sense m which we are to under- 
stand it is striving, struggling wdth evil tem- 
pers, unholy thoughts, and wrong desires; 
which, as I have told you, our great enemy, the 
devil, is always making use of to incite us to 
disobey God. Therefore we may be said to be 
in a constant state of spiritual warfare, and al- 
lusion to this is frequently made in many parts 
of the Bible. 

Mary. »Are you going to tell me anything 
about the Prayer itself? 

Mamma. Indeed I do not think it requires 
any explanation. It is an excellent prayer, 
but being for the most part a repetition of other 
parts of the service, there seems to remain 
little to say. There is, however, one passage 
at the end of it, quite unlike any other ; that 



160 maey's fiest going to chuech. 

is, where we thank God on account of those 
good persons whom it has pleased Him to 
take from this troublesome world, and express 
our hope that it will please Him to let us all 
meet together, and partake of the happiness He 
has in reserve for those who strive to obey Him 
and trust in the merits of Jesus Christ. 

Mary. Then there is nothing afterwards, but 
what I heard you call the Blessing. 

Mamma. Yes; after the prayer which fol- 
lows the sermon, the clergyman, authorized to 
bless in God's name, concludes the service by 
his earnest wish, and his devout conviction, that 
God will fill our hearts and minds with the 
knowledge and love of Himself, and that His 
blessing may rest upon us all. 



ASH-WEDNESDAY. 



161 



€^Ux tettiji-SMisntft. 



ASH- WEDNESDAY— LENT — SEPTUAGESIMA - 
QUINQUAGESIMA. 



- SEXAGESIMA — 




|AET. Mamma, did I hear you say 
you were going to Church to-mor- 
row ? 

Mamma. Yes, my dear — to-mor- 
row will be Ash-Wednesday; and 
next you will ask me what is Ash- I 
"Wednesday, and why do we go to 
Church on that day ? 

Mary. And next, I hope you will be so kind 
as to tell me. 

Mamma. I will tell you as much as I think 
you can understand about Ash- Wednesday, 
but there is much beyond your little mind 
at present. 

Mary. First, will you tell me why it is called 
Ash- Wednesday ? 

Mamma. Not first, but presently. If you 
look into your Prayer-book, you will see that 
the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel to be read to- 



162 MARY's FIRST GOING to church. 

morrow are for the first day of Lent, common- 
ly called Ash-Wednesday, and that there are 
afterwards five Sundays in Lent. Now, though 
we give the name of Lent to an annual season 
of peculiar seriousness and solemnity, it is only 
a Saxon word signifying Spring. 

Mary. "What do you mean by a Saxon 
word? 

Mamma. Many hundred years ago, people 
from different nations, as the Romans from 
Italy, the Saxons from Germany, and the Nor- 
mans from France, at various times invaded 
the island of Great Britain, settled themselves in 
many parts of it, and, of course, their language 
became gradually mixed with the native tongue 
When you are older you may probably be in- 
terested and amused, but it is not otherwise 
necessary, in finding the different English 
words that come from those various nations. 
To return to the subject on which we were 
speaking, it was the custom amongst the Jews 
to set apart a portion of time at this season 
as one of peculiar devotion and solemnity, 
and they called it the Spring fast. The early 
Christians carried it on with still greater reason, 
as a preparation for commemorating at Easter 
the wonderful mercy of God in giving His Son 



LENT. 163 

to die for the pardon of our offences, and to 
rise again from the dead. From this time, 
therefore, till Easter, which, taking out the Sun- 
days, comprises forty days — 

Mary. Is there any particular reason for its 
lasting forty days ? 

Mamma. Forty seems to have been a re- 
markable number in the Bible history. In the 
time of Noah, when the wickedness of men 
provoked God to drown the world, we are told 
that it rained forty days and forty nights ; the 
Israelites were forty years wandering in the 
wilderness; Moses was forty days alone on 
Mount Sinai, receiving the commandments and 
directions of God ; and our Saviour, before He 
began His earthly ministry, spent forty days 
alone in the wilderness, that is, a part of the 
country that was not inhabited. 

Mary. Then do you think we ought to do 
the same, as you said one of the reasons of our 
Saviour's coming into the world was to set us 
an example of all that was right ? 

Mamma. We certainly ought to imitate His 
example as nearly as we can; but there is a 
great difference between Him and us. I am 
quite sure that no human body could exist 
forty days without food, as we are told He did, 



164 mary's first going to church. 

and I do not think it would be desirable for 
ourselves, or our fellow creatures, that we 
should pass that time in entire solitude. But 
our Saviour retiring for that period from all in- 
tercourse with mankind, and giving Himself 
up to prayer, may teach us, that it is very fit 
we should occasionally withdraw from worldly 
business and pursuits to give our thoughts 
more entirely to religious subjects, and to ex- 
amine into the state of our own souls ; and we 
should therefore not fail to take the opportunity 
which the ordinances of the Church give us. 
Ash-Wednesday has from the earliest times 
been observed as a day of humiliation— that is, 
repentance and sorrow for our sins. In Eastern 
countries, where Christianity began, and where 
it is usual to express everything by signs, it was 
a custom for those who had been guilty of 
great sins, and were now penitent, to appear on 
Ash-Wednesday with ashes on their heads, as 
a token that they considered themselves vile, 
and desired to humble themselves before God 
and before men. These outward signs are no 
longer practised; but the inward feelings of 
shame and contrition should never be forgotten 
or lost ; since, as I have before said, none of us 
are without sin ; and none, consequently, are 



LENT. 165 

■without the need of deep sorrow for having of- 
fended God, and earnest entreaty for His for- 
giveness through the merits of our Saviour 
Christ. 

Mary. Another thing I want to ask you ; 
why did the cook ask you if there was to be 
anything more than salt fish for dinner to-mor- 
row, as it would be Ash-Wednesday ? 

Mamma. Becaiise many people think it 
right on that day to fast, that is, to abstain 
from more food than is absolutely necessary. 

Mary. On that day only? 

Mamma. Some fast on all the Wednesdays 
and Fridays during Lent, as being the princi- 
pal of the week-days ; and some on all Fridays 
throughout the year, as a remembrance of Jesus 
Christ being crucified on that day of the week. 

Mary. But, Mamma, do you think it right 
to fast ? 

Mamma. I think, Mary, that you cannot 
enter into the reasoning upon it, and therefore 
I shall not talk on the subject till you are 
older. 

Mary. And, Mamma, you said to the cook, 
" Do not forget the pancakes to-day, for it is 
Shrove Tuesday ;" has that anything to do with 
fasting, or any religious custom ? 



166 mary's first going to church. 

Mamma. I think my little girl will rather 
consider it feasting, as she is very fond of pan- 
cakes. The truth is, that it is one of many old 
customs, which are of no consequence, and for 
which various doubtful reasons are given ; and 
that I am rather fond, I hardly know why, of 
keeping up old customs, provided they are 
harmless. And now, I think you had better 
go and feed the poultry, as is your custom at 
this hour of the day. 

Mary. Oh, but do, if you please, Mamma, 
before I go, just tell me the meaning of those 
odd names that are given in the Prayer-book 
to the last three Sundays. 

Mamma. It is not very easy to give you 
quite a satisfactory answer to that question ; 
but the most simple solution seems to be, that 
the first Sunday in Lent was formerly called 
Quadragesima, which means forty, because it 
was exactly forty days from Good Friday ; and 
the Sundays next before were called, though 
incorrectly, Quinquagesima, Sexagesirna, and 
Septuagesima, signifying fifty, sixty, seventy, 
because those are the next round numbers, 
as the tens are called. As I said, that is not 
correct, because there are seven, not ten days 
in each week; but this is of little importance. 



LENT. 167 

Mary. Thank you, dear Mamma. Now I 
will not trouble you with any more questions, 
though you are so kind to tell your little girl 
you do not think it a trouble to answer her. 




168 maey's fiest going to chuech. 




Cfcspiu f totntg-i|[irlr. 

PALM SUNDAY — PASSION WEEK. 

AEY. Are yon busy, dear Mamma ? 
Mamma* Not particularly, dear 
cliild. I suppose your inquiry 
means that you have something to 
say to me. 

Mary. When we were walking 
two or three days ago — I did not tell 
yon this before, because yon were busy, or had 
company. 

Mamma. Quite right not to interrupt me. 
Mary. But I kept thinking of it, that I 
might tell you, when you should be disengaged 
— that on some bushes in the hedge which sep- 
arates Papa's field from Mr. Franklin's, there 
were some very pretty things that looked al- 
most like egg-shaped balls made of silk threads, 
and Jane said to Serlis, " See ! these palms will 
be quite out for Palm Sunday, which is next 
Sunday!" Now I want to know what she 
could mean ■ why is next Sunday called Palm 



PALM SUNDAY. 169 

Sunday, and why did she talk about palms? 
for Papa told me those plants you went to see 
in Mr. Prince's conservatory were palms, and 
that none grew ouj; of doors in the north ; and 
if they did, what could Jane mean by their 
being ready for Palm Sunday? 

Mamma. These are indeed a number of ques- 
tions ; but I am very glad that you should ob- 
serve and remember the things you see and 
hear, and inquire about those you do not 
know or understand. Those pretty things in 
the hedge are the blossoms of the willow, 
which appear about this time of year; it is a 
common notion that they always blow just be- 
fore Palm Sunday, but of course that is not 
correct, as Palm Sunday is always one week 
before Easter Day, and, like that festival, ad- 
mits a variation of seven weeks. Palm; Sun- 
day is so called, because our blessed Saviour, a 
short time before He was crucified, made a 
triumphant entry into Jerusalem, riding on an 
ass, and many people came out to meet Him, 
crying " Hosanna, to the Son of David. Bless- 
ed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord !" 
And some cast their garments on the ground, 
and others cut down branches from the palm 
trees, which grew abundantly in that country, 
15 



170 

and carried them in their hands, as was custom- 
ary on festive occasions, or strewed them on the 
ground. On this account, and as a remem- 
brance of this, people used to go in procession, 
carrying the branches of trees; and in this 
latitude, where the palm branches could not 
be had, they substituted branches of willow. 

Mary. But, Mamma, why did not Jesus 
Christ ride on a horse instead of an ass ? 

Mamma. I think I have before told you, 
there were no horses in the country where the 
Jews lived ; it was then and still is, in many of 
the Eastern countries, very much the custom to 
ride on asses. 

Mary. But is there any reason why we 
should particularly keep up the remembrance 
of our Saviour thus riding into Jerusalem, 
more than of many other things that He 
must have done during the time He was on 
earth ? 

Mamma. Tes; because it was a very import- 
ant circumstance, as proving the truth of His 
being indeed the Messiah, the heavenly King ; 
for all the particulars had been foretold respect- 
ing Him many, many years before. 

Mary. Next, I want to know, if you please, 
what Passion Week means. I have heard you 



PASSION WEEK. 171 

say several times, talking of various things, 
" Next week will be Passion Week" 

Mamma. Passion, means suffering, and 
next week is called Passion Week, because 
during it we commemorate the sufferings of 
our Saviour. There is service at Church every 
day, which I hope to attend ; particular Epis- 
tles, Gospels, and Lessons for the different days^ 
all of them referring, more or less, to the sub- 
ject of those sufferings. 

Mary. But, Mamma, how can God suffer, 
when He has power over everything? 

Mamma. When it pleased God that our 
Lord Jesus Christ should take upon Him the 
nature of man, He became subject to all the 
pains and infirmities o£ man, and besides His 
bodily sufferings, we may well conceive that 
He, who was of so kind and compassionate a 
nature, must have been extremely grieved that 
so many continued hard-hearted and refused 
to accept the salvation He offered them if they 
would believe on Him, and amend their lives. 
And most particularly distressing must it have 
been to Him, that some, even amongst His 
Apostles, those who were constantly witness- 
ing His perfections, treated Him with treach- 
ery and ingratitude. 



172 mary's first going to church. 

Mary. How so, Mamma? 

Mamma. Judas Iscarioi one of those Apos- 
tles, for a small sum of money, betrayed Him 
to His enemies, the chief priests, scribes, and 
rulers; that is, told them where they might 
find Him and seize Him ; and after they had 
done so, another Apostle, Peter, who had vehe- 
mently declared that he would never leave noi 
forsake his Master, but would be ready to die 
with Him, when charged with being one of 
His associates, denied all knowledge of Him. 

Mary. That was very unkind. 

Mamma. And yet our Saviour's only re- 
proach was a look, which no doubt touched 
Peter deeply, for we are told he went out and 
wept bitterly. 

Mary. How sorry Peter must have been to 
have behaved so ill to such a kind Master ! 

Mamma. There is no doubt that he was, 
and all the rest of his life evinced his sincerity 
and anxiety to serve that Master faithfully. 

Mary. Do you think Jesus Christ knew be- 
fore what was to happen to Him ? , 

Mamma. I am quite sure that He did ; for 
in His discourses with His disciples, He very 
frequently alluded to all He was to undergo, 
and called their attention, though they did not 



PASSION WEEK. 173 

at the time understand Him, to tlie fulfilment of 
the ancient prophecies. 

Mary. Then I suppose that was the reason 
He did not hide Himself from the wicked men 
that wanted to take away His life, or exert His 
power against them. 

Mamma. You know I have told you that it 
was of His own will that He came into the 
world for the express purpose of dying for our 
sins. 

Mary. Oh, yes! but that seems so wonder- 
ful, that it is difficult to remember it. 

Mamma. It is indeed so wonderful, so diffi- 
cult to believe, that nothing but the positive 
declarations of the Gospel could persuade us of 
it. Yet it is quite necessary to bear it con- 
stantly in mind, as on that depend all our trust 
in God's goodness, and all our incentives to 
good conduct. 

Mary. Then I hope it will please God to 
help me to understand, and believe, and remem- 
ber about it. 

Mamma. Yes, my dear little girl, there is 
no doubt, if you pray earnestly to Him, that 
He will enlighten your understanding, and 
give you grace and strength to believe and to 
do all that is right. 

15* 



174 maey's fikst going to chxiech. 




tffoaptu %totnt%-iautt\. 

MAUNDY THUESDAY — ~ PASSOVEE — HOLY COMMOTION, OR 
loed's SUPPEE. 

ART. Mamma, Serlis was looking in 
her Almanac, and said she wonder- 
ed why the day before Good Friday 
should be called Maundy Thursday. 
So I thought I would ask you to tell 
me what that means, and then I 
could inform her. 
Mamma. Very well, my daughter. I am 
glad that you should have the desire to render 
any little service in your power to Serlis, who 
is entitled to much gratitude from you, for the 
great care she takes of you and your little 
sisters, and for many kindnesses she shows you 
moreover. The term Maundy comes from a 
Latin word signifying a commandment, a 
thing enjoined, and it is applied to the Thurs- 
day in Passion Weelc, because on the day be- 
fore His death, Jesus Christ commanded His 
disciples, as you will hear it read from the 



PASSOVER. 175 

Bible, in the various services of the week, to 
meet together frequently, and to keep up the 
remembrance of His dying for us, by breaking 
bread and drinking wine in the manner pre- 
scribed by Him. 

Mary. "When and how did Jesus Christ give 
that commandment to His disciples ? 

Mamma. He was at supper with .them, cele- 
brating the Jewish Feast of the Passover ', which 
was both a memorial and a type, or promise 
made by an action, of something in future to be 
done. 

Mary. I do not understand you very well, 
Mamma. 

Mamma. No, my dear, you cannot, without 
my telling you something more, which I was 
going to do. A long time before our Saviour 
came into the world as a man, the people, or 
children — as they were called — of Israel, were 
in subjection to the Egyptians, who used them 
very ill ; God, by the mouths of Moses and 
Aaron, commanded Pharaoh, King of Egypt, to 
let them leave Egypt, which he refused to do, 
and provoked God to punish him with several 
dreadful calamities, which are now commonly 
known by the name of the plagues of Egypt. 
The last was the worst of all : in everv house, 



176 mart's first going to church. 

in every family, the eldest child was suddenly 
struck dead; so that the Bible tells us "there 
was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a 
house where there was not one dead." 

Mary. How very shocking that must have 
been ! If Pharaoh had known that would hap- 
pen, he certainly would have minded what was 
said to him. 

Mamma. He did know, or might have 
known, if he had not been so obstinately deter- 
mined not to believe or obey the messages God 
sent to him ; for Moses was commanded by God 
to declare what He intended to do to this 
wicked King and his people ; and to direct the 
Israelites that each family should provide a 
lamb, which they were to kill and eat — after 
cooking it, and the other things they ate with 
it — in the quickest manner; and that they 
should mark their door-posts with the blood of 
the lamb, that the angel whom God should 
send to destroy the first-born of the Egyptians, 
should pass over the houses of the Israelites ; 
and they were directed by Moses, their ruler 
and lawgiver, every year to kill and eat a lamb 
in the same way, and this was called keeping 
the Feast of the Passover. The Jews do keep 
it to this day, for unhappily they have never 



HOLY COMMUNION. 177 

been able to believe and understand that our 
Saviour has come into the world, and accom- 
plished our greater deliverance from sin ; but we 
know, from the Gospel, that He abolished the ob- 
servance of the Passover, and instituted instead 
of it the celebration of what is usually called 
the Holy Communion, or the Lord's Supper; 
this, as I told you once before, you are not old 
enough to understand, more than that it is a 
remembrance of Jesus Christ's dying for us, 
and that it is now what the Passover was be- 
fore that took place, a representation of that 
most wonderful and merciful dispensation of 
Almighty God. 

Mary. Were all the disciples with Jesus 
when He gave them that command ? 

Mamma. All the Apostles were, even that 
wicked one, Judas Iscariot, who was soon to 
betray Him to His enemies, the chief priests 
and rulers, who were bent on His destruction, 
because they fancied He was going to put down 
their authority, and were jealous of the admira- 
tion of many of the people for Him. 

Mary. And did Jesus know that ? 

Mamma. Yes, my love, He knew every- 
thing ; and it must have been a proof to his 
Apostles, and to others, of His divine nature, 



178 mart's first going to church. 

when they afterwards recollected that He had 
foretold all that must happen to Him, though 
at the time they did not understand Him. 

Mary. They would have been very unhappy 
if they had ; but then perhaps they could have 
guarded Him, and prevented His enemies put- 
ting Him to death. 

Mamma. But you forget, dear Mary, that 
had they been able to do so, they would have 
defeated the great end of His coming into the 
world. Of this Jesus reminded His disciples 
when, on His being attacked by a band of 
soldiers and others, led by the traitor Judas, 
one of the disciples defended Him with a 
sword. Jesus rebuked him, and gave them to 
understand that nothing could be easier than 
for Him to be defended by a vast number of 
angels, but then the Holy Scriptures would not 
be fulfilled. 

Mary. Then what did the disciples do ? 

Mamma. We are told they all forsook Him, 
and fled. 

Mary. How unkind that was of them ! 

Mamma. Nothing more strongly proves the 
weakness of human nature unassisted, nor its 
strength when assisted by divine grace. These 
disciples must have loved Jesus as much as any 



HOLY COMMUNION. 179 

friend can love another, they had repeatedly de- 
clared nothing should separate them from Him ; 
and Peter, as I have told you, was the most 
vehement in asserting this, and yet on the ap- 
pearance of danger denied all knowledge of 
Him; but these same men afterwards under- 
went all kinds of hardship, and suffering, and 
difficulty, and could not be deterred by any 
threats from openly professing their belief in 
Jesus Christ, and endeavoring to spread every- 
where the knowledge of His Gospel. This 
account of the disciples is, therefore, a very 
striking lesson of humility, and distrust in our 
own power to do anything good alone, and a 
very great encouragement to ask and depend 
on the goodness of God to support and assist 
us in doing our duty. 




180 maet's first going to chuech. 




€\mUx %totixtu-fift\. 

GOOD FKIDAY. 

ARY. Mamma, is not this the day on 
which the wicked Jews put Jesus 
Christ to death? 

Mamma. Yes, my dear, it is the 
day on which we keep the remem- 
brance of that event most important 
to the whole race of mankind. It 
may not be the very exact day ; and for reasons 
I need not now tell you, it varies from year to 
year; but it is tolerably certain that it must 
have been very near this time. 

Mary. I think it ought to be called Bad Fri- 
day ', rather than Good Friday, as such a shock- 
ing thing took place on that day. 

Mamma. But you must remember that it 
produced the very greatest of all benefits to us ; 
though it is very sad to think of our Saviour's 
sufferings, of their being brought on Him by 
the delusion and wickedness of those wretched 
people who would not attend to His Divine 



GOOD FRIDAY* 181 

mission, and of the heaped-up sins of all man- 
kind, which rendered such a sacrifice necessary ; 
since in no other way could that justice of God 
be satisfied. 

Mary. Yes, certainly, on that account it- 
ought to be called Good Friday ; and because 
it was so very good of God to let His Son come 
into the world and die for us. 

Mamma. So supremely, so wonderfully good, 
that a whole eternity of praise can scarcely be 
sufficient to thank Him for it. 

Mary. But, Mamma, how could the wicked 
people put Jesus Christ to death, when He had 
not done anything wrong ? 

Mamma. The Jews knew perfectly well that 
they had no just pretence for putting Him to 
death, but as they were determined on it, they 
brought false witnesses against Him, who mis- 
represented what He had said, and declared He 
had spoken against the Temple, which they 
called blasphemy. Then, because they thought 
this might not be sufficient, the High Priest, 
who was one of His greatest enemies, asked 
Him if He were the Son of God. On the re- 
ply of Jesus Christ, that He was so, the High 
Priest pretended to be much shocked, and de- 
clared He ought to die for such a wicked 
16 



182 mary's first going to church. 

speech. Thereupon they took Him to Pontius 
Pilate, the Eoman Governor, for the Jews were 
under the dominion of the Romans, and could 
not, without leave from the Governor, put any 
criminal to death; and begged of him to let 
Jesus be crucified. That was a dreadful pun- 
ishment, reserved for the worst malefactors. 

Mary. And did Pontius Pilate let Him be 
crucified without knowing whether He deserved 
it or not? That was very wrong, was it not? 
for I suppose he did not know that God intend- 
ed His Son should die for us. 

Mamma. Pilate knew still less about Him 
than the Jews ; for he was a heathen, and, of 
course, did not read or care about the Prophe- 
cies, in which the birth and all the circum- 
stances relating to the Messiah were foretold. 
But, at first, he seemed inclined to treat the 
clamor of our Lord's enemies with little atten- 
tion, and told them that he found no fault in 
Him. They, knowing that Pilate would not 
mind their accusation of His offending against 
their religious opinions, told Pilate that Jesus 
had attempted to set Himself up as a King 
against Caesar, who was the Emperor at the 
time ; and that Pilate would show himself no 
friend to Caesar, if He suffered Jesus to live. 



GOOD FRIDAY. 183 

He certainly appears to have tried for a long 
time to save our Lord from their malice, but as 
they were determined on His destruction, he at 
last allowed himself to be persuaded to give 
Him up, and told them they might crucify Him 
if they chose ; but that he would not have any- 
thing to do with it, and it is evident he believ- 
ed Jesus to be innocent. 

Mary. Then was not that very wrong of 
Pilate? 

Mamma, Undoubtedly it was; as, being a 
judge, it was his duty to examine very careful- 
ly into the truth of any accusation that was 
brought against any one, and on no account 
to suffer an innocent person to be put to death. 

Mary. Was Jesus killed immediately? 

Mamma. He was treated most cruelly and 
shamefully. After being subjected to many 
tortures and insults, He was made to carry the 
cross, on which they were going to nail Him, a 
little way out of the city, towards a hill called 
Golgotha, or Calvary, where it was usual to 
put malefactors to death. During all this time 
nothing could exceed His patience ; and so 
little did He seem to think about Himself, that 
when He saw some women who were following 
Him, bewailing and lamenting, He said to 



184 maey's first going to church. 

them, " Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for 
me, but weep for yourselves and for your chil- 
dren;" no doubt thinking of the time when 
great calamities were to come on that unhappy 
country. When arrived at the place I just 
now told you of, His hands and feet were nail- 
ed to a cross of wood, which was then set up- 
right in the ground. "We can scarcely conceive 
anything more painful ; but we are told that 
persons who underwent that punishment often 
hung on the cross some days before death put 
an end to their sufferings. In the case of Jesus 
Christ, it pleased God that He should die in six 
hours from the time of His crucifixion, which 
it appears was at nine in the morning. 

Mary. Six hours ! then He must have died 
about three in the afternoon. 

Mamma. Yes. And we are told that some 
very remarkable events happened at that time. 
There was a great earthquake, and from noon 
an unnatural darkness, which lasted three hours. 

Mary. "Were any of the friends of Jesus 
Christ with Him ? 

Mamma. His mother and His beloved dis- 
ciple John stood by the side of the cross ; and 
in His last moments He gave a beautiful ex- 
ample of filial tenderness and piety, in commit- 



GOOD FRIDAY. 185 

ting His mother to the care of that disciple, 
saying to her, " Woman, behold thy son !" and 
to him, " Behold thy mother !" And we may 
be sure that John felt honored and gratified by 
the charge, as he tells us himself in the Gos- 
pel he wrote, that from that hour he took her 
to his own home. 

Mary. In the great book of prints which you 
let me look at sometimes, there is one of the 
Crucifixion, and in 1;hat there are three crosses, 
and men on them; were any of our Lord's 
apostles or disciples crucified with Him ? 

Mamma. No ; they were two criminals who 
really deserved to die for some wicked actions 
they had committed. This circumstance made 
our Saviour's death still more shameful in a 
worldly view of it. 

Mary. Is anything known about these two 
criminals ? 

Mamma. Only that one of them joined the 
wicked, cruel crowd in reviling Jesus ; for 
which the other reproached him, confessing his 
own guilt, and expressing his trust in our Sa- 
viour's power and willingness to admit him to 
heaven. 

Mary. And do you think Jesus would ? 

Mamma. Yes, my love; our blessed Lord 
16* 



186 mary's first going to church. 

spoke words of encouragement to Him, -which 
no doubt have conveyed abundance of consola- 
tion to many a dying sinner. But we ought 
all to remember that it is both unwise and im- 
pious to trust to what is called a death-bed re- 
pentance ; since who can tell that even a few 
moments may be granted to prepare for death ! 
and how unreasonable is it to expect that fur- 
ther opportunity should be offered to those 
that have neglected many ! 

Mary. "What became of the body of Jesus 
after He was dead ? 

Mamma. Joseph of Arimathea, a rich and 
good man, who had been a disciple of Jesus, 
went to Pilate, the Roman Governor, and ask- 
ed permission to take the body from the cross. 
Having obtained this, he buried it in a sepul- 
chre or tomb, which he had made for himself 
in a garden, as was the custom of the Jews in 
those days. What happened afterwards we 
shall talk about on Easter Day, the day after 
to-morrow. 

Mary. It is a trifling question, I know, to 
ask you, after you have been talking to me of 
of such serious things ; but I should like to 
know what is the meaning of those buns we 
had at breakfast this morning ; they were quite 



GOOD FEIDAY. 187 

different from those that Papa gives us some- 
times, when we come in from a long walk. 
Serlis said they were only eaten on Good Fri- 
day. 

Mamma. They are called Hot Cross, or Holy 
Cross Buns. I believe they were originally 
made in imitation of the unleavened bread, that 
is, bread made very quickly, without being 
raised by leaven, and eaten by the Israelites at 
the celebration of the Passover ; and the mark 
of the cross is added to remind us of our Sa- 
viour's having died on the cross for us. 



188 mart's first going to church. 



Cftspitr f totitts-sistfe. 



EASTER DAY. 




ARY. Mamma, you promised to tell 
me to-day more about Jesus Christ. 
If He had been only a man, I should 
know there could not be anything 
more to tell me, because the last 
thing was His being buried. But I 
know from the Belief that on the 
third day He rose again from the dead. 
' Mamma. Yes. And it is His resurrection 
which we celebrate on this day, called Easter 
Day. Observe, that it was not three whole 
days that He lay in the grave ; but that the 
first and the last are reckoned when we say, 
" He rose on the third day." 

Mary. Now, then, tell me all about it, if you 
please, Mamma. 

Mamma. I told you on Good Friday, that 
Joseph of Arimathea asked and obtained leave 
to take the body from the cross. 
Mary. I remember that quite well. 



EASTER DAY. 189 

Mamma. Before He did so, however, a sol- 
dier, I suppose to make sure of His being quite 
dead, had pierced His side with a spear. I 
likewise told you, I believe, that Joseph, laid 
the body in a sepulchre, which he had caused 
to be hewn out of a rock in his own garden. 
He had intended it probably for his own 
family, but no one had yet been laid in it. 
This was the fulfilment of a very remark- 
able prophecy, delivered by Isaiah more than 
seven hundred years before our Saviour's birth. 

Mary. Was Joseph, of Arimathea alone 
when he did this ? 

Mamma. He was assisted by Nicodemus, the 
only one apparently of the Jewish rulers who 
believed in Jesus Christ's divine mission, and 
by some pious women. 

Mary. I suppose those wicked men who 
had caused Jesus to be put to death were now 
quite satisfied. 

Mamma. Tet we are told they were still 
afraid of the disciples of Jesus ; and they told 
Pilate that they recollected Jesus' having de- 
clared that He should rise again after three 
days, and that they feared His disciples might, 
during the night, steal His body, and pretend 
that He had risen. They therefore requested 



190 maey's fiest going to chuech. 

and obtained from Pilate that a large stone 
should be placed on the sepulchre, sealed down, 
and some soldiers set to watch it. Now, the 
pains taken by these wicked men to overcome 
entirely the influence of Jesus Christ on th( 
minds of men, proved the means of attesting 
the truth of His miraculous resurrection. 

Mary. How so, Mamma ? 

Mamma. I will relate to you all the circum- 
stances attending it. The women, who had 
brought sweet spices to embalm the body, ac- 
cording to the custom of the country, left them 
there on the Friday evening ; because as you 
no doubt remember my telling you— the day 
we call Saturday is observed by the Jews as 
their Sabbath, and kept very strictly ; and 
what will sound very odd to you, though it is 
still done in some countries, they reckon that 
the day begins at sunset. 

Mary. Then as soon as the sun sets on Fri- 
day, their Sabbath begins; and as soon as it 
sets on Saturday, their Sabbath is over. 

Mamma. Exactly so. For this reason, the 
women would not do anything to the body at 
that time; but returned very early, before it 
was light, on the morning of Sunday, the first 
day of the week. And we are told that as 



EASTER DAY. 191 

they went along, they were talking about the 
difficulty of raising the stone laid over the 
sepulchre, which was too heavy for them to lift. 
Their surprise, of course, was very great, when, 
on arriving at the place, they found the stone 
was already rolled away ; the soldiers who were 
set to watch were gone ; the body was not in 
the sepulchre, though the linen clothes in which 
it had been wrapped remained there ; and there 
were two angels sitting in the sepulchre, who 
told them that Jesus was not there, but was 
risen from the dead. 

Mary, How astonished the women must have 
been! 

Mamma. They were indeed ; so much so 
that they could not believe what they were 
told ; and even when Jesus himself appeared 
to one of them, named Mary Magdalene, she 
took Him for the gardener. 

Mcvry. But when at last they did know and 
understand, what did they do ? 

Mamma. They ran to tell the disciples, in 
obedience to the gracious command of that 
Lord whom they had so lately forsaken. Pray 
observe the beautiful example given to us by 
our blessed Saviour. The disciple whom He 
particularly mentioned, who He seemed to wish 



192 maey's first going to chuech. 

should have immediately the comfort of know- 
ing that He was risen, was Peter, who had 
denied Him. 

Mary. How very kind that was of our Lord ! 

Mamma. It also appears that Simon Peter 
was the first of the disciples to whom He show- 
ed Himself alive; though the circumstances 
attending that interview are not related to us. 

Mary. Then some of the disciples did see 
Him! 

Mamma. That same day a disciple, named 
Cleopas, and another, were walking together 
towards Emmaus, a small town at a little dis- 
tance from Jerusalem, and talking of their 
Lord's sufferings and death, and the rumor 
they had heard of His being risen ; an apparent 
stranger joined them, and entering into conver- 
sation with them, pointed out the fulfilment of 
the prophecies. No wonder that they were so 
much pleased with their companion, that they 
asked him to come in and sup with them at 
their inn. 

Mary. Who was it, Mamma ? 
• Mamma. On His breaking bread, and bless- 
ing it, as He gave it to them, they recognized 
their divine Master, but He immediately van- 
ished from their sight. They returned to tell 






EASTER DAY. 193 

the rest of their disciples, and while talking 
over these wonderful occurrences, Jesus Him- 
self stood in the midst of them, saluted them 
with the kind words, "Peace be unto you," 
and proved to them that it w^as really Himself, 
by showing them the marks of the nails on His 
hands and His feet, and of the spear in His 
side. Thus you see there were abundant proofs 
of the truth of His resurrection. 

Mary, What did the enemies of Jesus do 
when they found that He had risen from the 
dead ? They must have been very much dis- 
appointed when they found that all their plans 
to prevent it were of no use. 

Mamma. They had not, however, the hon- 
esty to confess it, but put about a story, and 
gave the soldiers money, to persuade them to 
say that they had fallen asleep while on their 
watch, and that the disciples had come in the 
mean time and stolen away the body. 

Mary. "What nonsense! all the soldiers 
would not have gone to sleep, if one had ; and 
if they had, the noise the disciples would have 
made in moving the stone must have awaken- 
ed them. Besides, if the disciples could have 
stolen the body, they could not have made it 
alive. 

17 



194 majiy's first going to chtjkch. 

Mamma. You reason very justly, my little 
girl. But this was what the enemies of Jesus 
chose to believe, or rather chose to say they 
believed: and so strong is the perverseness of 
this unhappy people, that they still believe this 
to the present moment ; but I hope that scarce- 
ly a day passes without the eyes of some of 
them being opened, and that the time will 
come when they will rejoice with us in the 
great blessings Jesus Christ has purchased for 
us all by His blood. 

Mary. I am sure I hope so : for I do not 
like to think there should be any people who 
do not know all that you have told me about 
our Saviour. 

Mamma. And I should be very sorry if you 
only looked on these accounts which I give you, 
or that you read in the little books of Bible 
stories that you have, as very pretty and inter- 
esting stories. 

Mary. But I do think a great many of them 
very pretty. 

Mamma. Certainly they are, many of them, 
more beautiful than can be anywhere else 
found. But observe, I said I did not wish you 
to consider them only in that light. We are 
told in the Bible, that all Scripture is given for 



EASTER DAY. 



195 



our learning. Every part of our Saviour's his- 
tory is full of instruction for us. ~No event 
that ever happened in the world could be of the 
same consequence to us as His death. And 
His resurrection is the proof of His being 
really the Son of God; and gives us the assur- 
ance that we shall also rise from the tomb ; 
and if we do not by our perverseness render 
His atonement of no avail, we shall live with 
Him forever in glory and unceasing happiness. 




196 



MARY'S FIRST GOIKG TO CHURCH* 



ClpgUr %tBtntu-nbtnt%. 



ASCENSION DAY* 




k AMMA. I suppose, Mary, you ob- 
served that the clergyman to-day 
gave notice there would be service 
in the Church next Thursday, being 
Ascension Day. 

Mary. Yes, I did. And I thought 
at the time most likely you would 
tell me something about it. Will you not, dear 
Mamma ? 

Mamma. Yes. Ascension Day, as the name 
may tell you, is that on which we commemorate 
our Saviour's going up into heaven, forty days 
after His rising from His tomb, which you 
know we talked about on Easter Day. 

Mary. And will next Thursday be forty 
days after Easter Day ? 

Mamma. Yes. If you look either at your 

% Prayer-book or the Almanac, you will find 

that this is the fifth Sunday after Easter. Thus, 

there have been five weeks, beginning with 



ASCENSION DAY. 197 

Easter Day, which makes thirty-five days ; and 
the five days of this week complete the forty. 

Mary. Did Jesus Christ live all that time 
with His disciples, just as He had done be- 
fore ? 

Mamma. No. He does not seem to have 
lived with them any more in the familiar 
manner He had done previously. But He ap- 
peared to them frequently ; on one occasion to 
more than five hundred. 

Mary. Then all those people must have been 
sure that it was quite true about His coming to 
life again. 

Mamma. And a?l others might be equally 
sure from what they were told. We read in 
the Bible that one of His Apostles, Thomas, 
happened not to be with the rest when Jesus 
appeared to them in the evening immediately 
following His resurrection; and that he de- 
clared he could not believe it, unless he should 
see the marks of the nails on the hands and 
feet of Jesus, and the wound in His side, made 
by a soldier who thrust his spear into it as He 
hung upon the cross. Jesus kindly gave Thomas 
this proof by appearing again to the Apostles, 
including Thomas, while they sat at meat one 
week after, and telling him to put his finger 
17* 



198 mart's first going to church. 

into the print of the nails, and his hand into 
the place in His side. 

Mary. Then Thomas could not help believing. 

Mamma. No, but our Saviour said to him, 
" Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet 
have believed." 

Mary. That is well for all the people of this 
time, because they could not see Jesus. 

Mamma. Before we go on to speak of the 
ascension of our Lord, there is one circum- 
stance, Mary, to which I wish to draw your at- 
tention. Do you remember, when we were 
talking about the observance of the Sabbath as 
enjoined by the fourth Commandment, that I 
promised to tell you why it was changed from 
the seventh to the first day of the week ? 

Mary. Oh, yes ! and you said that the Jews 
kept it on the seventh day, which we call Sat- 
urday. 

Mamma. Yes ; the Jews continue to keep it 
on the same day that they did apparently from 
the time of their deliverance from Egypt. But 
it seems our Lord's disciples changed it to the 
first day of the week, to commemorate that of 
His rising from the dead ; and on this account 
it was called by them, and still is frequently, 
the Zord's Day. 



ASCENSION DAY. 199 

Mary. Now, then, you are going to tell me 
about our Lord going up to heaven. Did any- 
body see Him ? and how did He go ? 

Mamma. He led His disciples out of Jeru- 
salem to the Mount of Olives, where He had 
frequently been with them ; and having given 
them instructions respecting their preaching 
the Gospel,- and assured them of the miracu- 
lous power that should be given them, "He 
was taken up, and a cloud received Him out 
of their sight." 

Mary. How sorry the disciples must have 
been to lose Him! but did they know He 
would not come back to them ? 

Mamma. While they stood gazing at the 
cloud which had conveyed Him from them, 
two angels appeared standing by them, and 
told them that Jesus was gone into heaven, 
and directed their thoughts to the end of all 
things, when He would return with equal 
glory to judge the world, and when they would 
receive the reward of the labors they were 
now going to undertake. 

Mary. I suppose that was a great comfort to 
them. 

Mamma. Certainly. And our Lord's ascen- 
sion was to them, as it is to us, a subject of 



200 

rejoicing ; as it proved that He was indeed the 
Son of God, and holds out the blessed hope, 
that where He is gone we may hope to follow, 
through faith in Him, and earnest endeavors to 
obey His precepts while on earth. 

Mary. IsTow that the history of our Lord 
Jesus Christ is finished, I suppose there are no 
more particular days. 

Mamma. There is Whitsunday, which is the 
Sunday next but one after Ascension Day ; and 
that which follows it is called Trinity Sun- 
day, which I will talk to you about another 
time. 

Mary. Oh! but there is one thing I have 
often wanted to ask you, Mamma, and have 
always forgotten it, except when we were at 
Church ; and I know you do not like me to ask 
questions or talk there. 

Mamma. Certainly not, as it would be a 
double evil — preventing you from attending to 
your duty at Church, and more or less disturb- 
ing others. 

Mary. But now I may. It is, why do we 
not always read the Psalms for the day of the 
month? Sometimes you put little bits of paper 
for marks in my Prayer-book, and we read one 
in one place, and another in another. 



ASCENSION DAY. 201 

Mamma. That is, when there are proper 
Psalms appointed for particular days. 

Mary. Proper Psalms ! are they not all prop- 
er ? I thought they were. 

Mamma. Proper, so used, does not mean 
good, right, correct; but belonging to, fitted 
for ; and you- will find that the Psalms appoint- 
ed for particular days are always the fittest that 
could be chosen for the occasion. Those for 
Good Friday, and Easter Day, in particular, 
are so clearly prophetic of the events of those 
days, that we might almost suppose them writ- 
ten after. Sometimes, also, one of the ten se- 
lections of Psalms may be used, especially 
when there is a third service, and the Psalms 
for the day of the month have been read before, 
in their regular course, at the Morning and 
Evening Prayer. 

Mary. My Cousin Geraldine says, she knows 
almost all the Psalms by heart. 

Mamma. I believe when she was still but a 
little girl, she made it a rule with herself, for it 
was not set her as a task, to learn a few verses 
every day. 

Mary. And she told me she used always to 
repeat some of them to herself, when she lay 
awake in bed, and whenever she was walking, 



202 



mart's first going to church. 



or doing anything by herself, that did not re- 
quire particular attention. 

Mamma. And I am quite sure she must 
have very often indeed found great comfort 
from knowing them so well ; for it has been 
justly said, that they are fitted to all times and 
seasons, and to all situations of .joy and grief, 
in which we may find ourselves in the course 
of our lives. 




WHITSUNDAY. 



203 




WHITSUNDAY GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIEIT. 

,ARY. Mamma, here is Whitsunday 
come, and you promised to tell me 
about it. First, if you please, I 
should like to know why it was so 
called. 

Mamma. I believe that it is not 
certainly known, but supposed, that 
the name of "Whitsuntide was given to this 
season, in the early times of Christianity, be- 
cause a great number of new converts were 
then baptized; and that it was customary for 
them to wear white dresses on that occasion. 
Mary. Why is not that done still ? 
Mamma. Because the circumstances of that 
time and this are very different. Christianity 
was not then the established religion, but num- 
bers of persons were converted to it, that is, con- 
vinced of its truth; and on being admitted to 
belong to the Church, were baptized ; but now 
that we have the happiness of living in an age 
and country where Christianity is universally 



204 maey's first going to church. 

professed, every little child is, very soon after 
its birth, baptized, and considered a member of 
Christ's Church. 

Mary. Oh, yes! I think I remember all you 
told me about that. 

Mamma, Another name given to this time is 
Pentecost, which, in Greek, means fifty. The 
Jews had a feast so called, which was held fifty 
days after their Passover, and this is fifty days 
from Easter. 

Mary. But why should we follow the cus- 
toms of the Jews ? 

Mamma. We do not observe this day be- 
cause the Jews did ; but because a very remark- 
able event happened on this day. 

Mary. "What was that ? 

Mamma. The descent of the Holy Ghost on 
the Apostles and other immediate disciples of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Mary. Pray tell me about that, for I do not 
at all understand you. 

Mamma. No, my dear child, you cannot 
possibly. And when I have told you all I can, 
there will still be a great deal you will not un- 
derstand; for it is one of the most difficult 
parts of Scripture. Therefore you must not 
be dissatisfied at finding it very obscure ; and 



GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 205 

may be sure that God would have made it clear 
to you, if He had thought it necessary or prop- 
er. The account of this remarkable event is 
given in the portion of Scripture which you 
will hear read at Church as the Epistle for this 
day. It is taken from the history of the Apos- 
tles after Jesus Christ had left them. That 
part of the Bible is called the Acts of the Apos- 
tles, and was written by St. Luke, who also 
wrote the Gospel that goes by his name. We 
are there told, the disciples were assembled on 
the day of Pentecost, which was seven weeks 
after the Passover, reckoning from the day after 
the Sabbath, or first day of the week, when 
the Passover was celebrated according to the 
command given by God to Moses. 

Mary. Seven weeks from the first day of 
the week, or day after the Sabbath. Then that 
must have been the first day of the week. 
And that agrees with what you w T ere telling me 
a little while ago, of our Lord's disciples chang- 
ing the Sabbath from the last to the first day 
of the week. But I beg your pardon for inter- 
rupting you, Mamma. 

Mamma, I do not mind your interrupting 
me with such remarks, and I am very glad to 
find you so attentive to what I tell you. 
18 



206 MAEY ? S FIKST GOING TO CHURCH. 

Mary. But now go on, if you please, dear 
Mamma. 

Mamma. "We are told that while they were 
assembled, " There came a sound from heaven, 
as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the 
house where they were sitting." Then there 
was an appearance as of tongues of fire rest- 
ing on each of them. 

Mary. Did the fire burn them ? 

Mamma. No, it was only the appearance of 
fire. 

Mary. But how frightened they must have 
been. Do you not think so? 

Mamma. We are not told what their sensa- 
tions at the first moment were. But I should 
think they were not frightened, because they 
were immediately filled with wonderful know- 
ledge ; they were enabled to speak directly and 
perfectly many languages with which they were 
not before acquainted; they had eloquence, and 
the power of working miracles given to them. 
Besides all this, they no doubt recollected that 
Jesus while He was with them, had promised 
to send them a Comforter ; and would imme- 
diately perceive that the promise was fulfilled 
in this communication of the Holy Spirit. 

Mary. But were not other people very much 



GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 207 

surprised to hear them talking languages that 
were new to them ? 

Mamma. Very much, indeed. "We are told 
that there were persons of many different na- 
tions then at Jerusalem ; some probably always 
lived there; and others might have come on 
account of the festival, and they were astonish- 
ed to hear these men, whom they knew to have 
been hitherto unlearned, all talking their dif- 
ferent languages. 

Mary. Vas not this the second time such a 
thing had happened ? Papa told me one day, 
when he was showing me some pictures, that a 
very, very long time ago some men wanted to 
build a tower, which should reach up to the 
sky, I believe, and to make themselves famous ; 
but that God, seeing their hearts were proud 
and wicked, put a stop to it, by making them 
speak different languages, so that they could 
not understand each other. 

Mamma. That was called the Confusion of 
Tongues, and was sent as a punishment for 
their pride and presumption; and we may 
thus see and admire how God makes use of the 
same means for punishment and mercy, and 
also causes good to arise from His severe judg- 
ments. The confusion of tongues caused men 



208 maey's fikst going to church. 

to separate and live in different countries of 
the world; but the latter miracle, the giving 
the extraordinary knowledge of all those dif- 
ferent languages to the Apostles, had nothing 
but mercy in it, enabling them to convey the 
good tidings of the Gospel to all the nations 
then known in the world. 

Mary. I wish God would be pleased to send 
us His Holy Spirit. 

Mamma. That is a wish which is shared by 
very many, and ought to be by all Christians. 
But, I believe, you, my little woman, do not 
rightly understand what it is you are saying. 

Mary. Indeed I do, Mamma. It would be 
so very pleasant to know a great many lan- 
guages without the trouble of learning them. 

Mamma. But that was by no means the 
whole or the chief part of the miraculous gifts 
conferred on the Apostles by the descent of the 
Holy Ghost. Nor would the gift of tongues, if 
it were given you, nor any other talent, be of 
real use to you, if God did not give you grace 
to make a right, use of it. This He did give 
by the Holy Spirit to the Apostles. He 
caused them to understand at once all the won- 
derful truths and difficulties of the Gospel, He 
filled them with the knowledge of all things 



GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 209 

relating thereto, both past and future, He gave 
them power to perform miracles, such as heal- 
ing the sick, restoring the dead to life, etc., and 
He inspired them with both the inclination and 
the power to spread the knowledge of the Gos- 
pel everywhere. 

Mary. Then, Mamma, I know it is in vain 
for us to wish that God should send His Holy- 
Spirit to us. 

Mamma. Not in the same manner, or to the 
same extent can we expect it ; but in a degree 
we may reasonably hope and ask for it. 

Mary. May we, indeed ? 

Mamma. Yes, our Lord Jesus Christ has, 
both by His own words, and those written from 
His inspiration by His Apostles, encouraged us 
to pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit ; and 
has promised that our prayers shall be granted. 

Mary. And what will the Holy Spirit do for 
us? 

Mamma. It is bestowed on the Church of 
Jesus already, and will dwell there forever. It 
will purify and sanctify our hearts and minds, 
fill us with the desire to obey and please God, 
and give us strength to overcome our evil pro- 
pensities, faith to believe and trust in our Sa- 
viour, and comfort in all our difficulties. 
IS* 



210 maey's first g-olstg to chuech. 

Mary. Will it indeed do all that ? 

Mamma. The best answer I can give you 
will be, reading to you the passages in Holy 
Scripture, where those gracious promises are 
made. "The Father shall give you another 
Comforter, that He may abide with you for- 
ever." — "He shall teach you all things, and 
bring all things to your remembrance whatso- 
ever I have said unto you." — " He will guide 
you into all truth, and He will show you things 
to come." — " The Spirit helpeth our infirmities, 
and maketk intercession for us." — " The things 
which God hath prepared for them that love 
Him, God hath revealed to us by His Spirit, 
and the Spirit knoweth all things." — "The 
Holy Ghost teacheth us the things that are 
freely given us of God." — " The Spirit giveth 
wisdom, knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, 
working of miracles, prophecy." — " The veil 
shall be removed from our hearts. We are 
changed to glory by the Spirit." 

Mary. Thank you/dear Mamma, I shall try 
and remember all that, and I dare say, by-and 
by, I shall understand it better. 

Mamma. No doubt, my dear child, but al- 
ways remember you must be humble, and wait 
patiently the Lord's time. 



TRINITY SUNDAY. 211 




TKIN1TY SUNDAY — SAINTS' DATS. 

, ART. Now we are come to another 
Sunday with an odd name ; at least, 
I think it odd, because I do not 
know what it means. "What is Trin- 
ity, Mamma ? 

Mamma, Trinity means three in 
one. I believe it is a word never 
used except to express the union of the three 
persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
Ghost, who together make one God. I dare say 
you remember my explaining this to you, as 
far as I could do so, when we were on the sub- 
ject of the Creed. 

Mary. Yes, I do. And I know you said 
then it was very difficult for me to understand ; 
and I do not think I understand it now any 
better than I did then. 

Mamma. Very likely not, my dear child; 
and you never will thoroughly, because it is 
beyond the reach of human understanding, 



212 maey's fiest going to church. 

But thus much I think you may comprehend, 
that while all persons in this world have some- 
thing different from each other in their tempers, 
opinions, wishes, tastes, etc. — 

Mary. Oh, yes ! I have often heard you and 
Papa say, no two persons think exactly alike. 

Mamma. True. But these three persons of 
the Godhead are so entirely united in every- 
thing, that we should, if we were speaking of 
human beings, say, they have but one heart 
and one mind between them. We may thus 
justly say, as we are taught, that the Father, 
the Seta, and the Holy Ghost, together, are but 
one God. 

Mary. Oh, yes, I think I understand that. 
But is there as much told us in the Bible 
about the Holy Ghost as about Jesus Christ ? 

Mamma, ISTo; because our Lord Jesus Christ 
having graciously vouchsafed to take our na- 
ture upon Him, He for a time dwelt among us, 
and, in a manner, became as one of us ; there- 
fore, there was much to be told of His say- 
ings and doings during His abode on earth, 
while the influence of the Holy Spirit being, 
for the most part, unseen, and confined to its 
effects on the minds of men, there is compara- 
tively little to record on the subject. But He 



TRINITY SUNDAY. 213 

is mentioned in various parts of the Bible, as 
being quite distinct from the other two divine 
persons, God the Father Almighty, the Creator 
of the world, and God the Son, the Redeemer 
of; mankind, and Mediator between sinful men 
and the Judge whom they have so often of- 
fended. 

Mary. Did you not say that Jesus Christ pro- 
mised to send the. Holy Spirit to His disciples? 

Mamma. Yes. He distinctly told them that 
He would pray to the Father ; and that He, 
the Father, would send them the Comforter, . 
the Spirit of truth, who should dwell in them, 
and abide with them forever. 

Mary. And you told me, that God will also 
send His Holy Spirit into our hearts, if we 
pray to Him for it. I should like you very 
much, if you please, dear Mamma, to write for 
me those verses that you read to me from the 
Bible about the Holy Spirit, because I do not 
know where to find them, and I should like to 
read them often, and remember them. 

Mamma. I will certainly, my little girl. It 
is a most comfortable thought for us, that we 
have in heaven a most wise, just, and merci- 
ful Father, who is above all, and can order all 
things ; an intercessor, who knows all our wants 



214 mary's fiest goi^g to church. 

and weaknesses, and who has not only suffered, 
to redeem ns from our sins, but is ever praying 
His Father to give us all good things ; and a 
Holy Spirit, who, unless we repel Him by the 
hardness and obstinacy of our dispositions, is 
continually pouring into our hearts strength 
and comfort, which none can take from us. 

Mary. But, Mamma, you have not told me 
what happened on this day to make it be call- 
ed Trinity Sunday. 

Mamma. Nothing happened. I mean to say 
that it is not so called in commemoration of any- 
thing that happened ; but the Church — that is, 
those good and holy men, who, in the early 
days of Christianity, regulated these matters — 
thought it well to appoint a day in the year for 
the particular remembrance of this doctrine; 
and chose that it should be this Sunday, after 
having gone through the principal circumstan- 
ces connected with His coming into this world, 
His abiding in it, His laying down His life for 
us, His wonderful resurrection, and His glo- 
rious ascension. 

Mary. Have you said all you intend about 
Trinity Sunday, Mamma? 

Mamma. I think there is nothing more to be 
said, at present, my dear. 



saints' days. 215 

Ma/ry. I see in the Prayer-book there are 
Collects, Epistles, and Gospels for a great 
many Sundays after Trinity. 

Mamma. Perhaps you may remember my 
telling you that the year may be considered as 
divided into two parts, Advent Sunday and 
Trinity Sunday making the divisions. The 
Gospels of the first part give us the chief 
events in our Saviour's history while on earth. 
In those of the second part, we find the most 
remarkable of His miracles, His parables, and 
His instructive discourses to His disciples. 
The Collects and Epistles have, for the most 
part, some connection with the Gospels. 

Mary. There are also some for other days 
besides Sundays. 

Mamma. Those are called Saints' Days ; and 
though they are of less importance than those 
we have spoken about, yet it is well to com- 
memorate the sufferings and the exertions of 
those Apostles who were chosen by our Lord 
to be the principal instruments in spreading the 
knowledge of the Gospel through the world. I 
think you have more than once been at Church 
when the Saint's day happening to be on Sun- 
day, the Collect for that Saint's day has been 
read immediately before that for the Sunday. 



216 maey's first going to church. 

And if you were at Church on a week day 
that happened to be a Saint's day, you would 
hear the Collect, Epistle, Gospel, and Lessons, 
especially appointed for the day, read in their 
proper places. 

Mary. Have you anything more to tell me, 
Mamma ? 

Mamma. Ho, my dearest child. I think I 
have told you all that you are at present ca- 
pable of understanding respecting the Church 
service, and the days appointed by the Church 
to be kept holy. But you must not imagine 
that there is not a great deal more for you to 
learn when you are older. And I pray earnest- 
ly to Almighty God that He will give the 
blessing of His Holy Spirit to me in teaching, 
and to you in receiving and applying to your 
belief and practice, the important truths of our 
religion, originating and named from our Lord 
Jesus Christ. 



LIFE OF BISHOP WAUfWRIGHT. 



This is a continuation of the popular series, already so 
favorably received by the Church. The author has been 
enabled to enliven the earlier part of the memoir by 
some letters written in boyhood, and which will amuse 
children. The various letters of the Bishop to his chil- 
dren in after-life contain, in brief and affectionate sim- 
plicity, a world of wisdom. The interest increases as the 
atory proceeds, and culminates in that brief and busy 
Episcopate which, in the immense amount of its labors, 
and the solemn suddenness of its close — the sharp recoil 
of nature against severe overwork — yet remains stamped 
so strongly and so warmly in the heart of the Church. 

The exquisite lme-engraving portrait of the Bishop, 
which embellishes the work, is one of the happiest like- 
nesses of him that we have ever seen. — Church Journal. 



Clergy and Parish List of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church 

m THE UNITED STATES. 

In addition to a general Clergy List, showing the Post- 
Office address of each clergyman, this work contains a 
Tabular List of the towns in each of the Dioceses in which 
there are Parishes, given alphabetically; and also the 
name of the Church, and of the Eector, with the r umber 
of families, and of communicants in each Parish, as far as 
can be ascertained. A convenient and desirable work.— 
Calendar. 

36 



CBITICAL NOTICES. 

Life of Bishop Claggett, of Maryland. By Eev. 

John N. Norton, M.A. 

The Life Of Bishop Griswold. Second Edition. En- 
larged. By the same Author. 

The Life Of Bishop White. By the same Author. 
Second Edition. Enlarged. 

The above-mentioned books are published by the Gen- 
eral Protestant Episcopal Sunday School Union and 
Church Book Society, New York, 1859. And most choice 
books they are, too. Written or compiled by one of the 
soundest divines of the Church, and having also the merit 
of truth, and being most interesting narratives of the 
lives of honored and distinguished Bishops of the Church, 
we recommend them, as they were specially intended, to 
every Sunday-school of the Church. 

The "Life of Bishop Claggett" was published by con- 
tributions from the Diocese of Maryland ; has a very well 
executed steel engraving of the Bishop ; is dedicated to 
the Hon. Ezekiel F. Chambers, of Chestertown, Maryland ; 
and the preface asserts that "Bev. Ethan Allen, D.D., 
of Baltimore, has been engaged in good earnest in com- 
piling and preparing a much larger work upon the * Life 
and Times of Bishop Claggett.' " 

The "Life of Bishop Griswold" is an exceedingly id - 
teresting volume, aside from its value as a biography of 
the late Bishop ; because it sets forth, though briefly, a 
history of what was once called the Eastern Diocese, com- 
posed of the present dioceses of Maine, New Hampshire, 
Vermont, Pdiode Island, and Massachusetts. It has also 
a very beautifully executed steel engraving of the Bishop. 

These books are characteristic specimens of the work 
and material of the Society which issues them, and which 
deserves the hearty co-operation of the Church in all its 
good works. Long may it nourish to send forth for chil- 
dren such works, unquestionable in character, and sanc- 
tifying- in influence.— Churchman. 
37 



THE LIBRARIAN: 

OF THE 

General Protestant Episcopal Sunday School Union 
and Church Book Society. 



An excellent, and we think it will hereafter De re- 
garded an indispensable, hook of reference. It gives an 
alphabetical list of all the subjects treated of in the books 
issued by the Society, with reference to the volume in 
which each subject is considered. This is followed by a 
list of the names of the authors of the various books, so 
far as known ; then a list of the illustrations ; an alpha- 
betical and numerical catalogue. The whole concludes 
with a list of the books of instruction published by the 
Society. — Gospel Messenger. 

This book is much more than is indicated by its title. 
It contains an index of subjects in the various publica- 
tions of the Society, and in what volume each may be. 
found ; a list of the authors and illustrations ; an alpha- 
betical and numerical catalogue of the Society's books, 
and also books of instruction and Sunday-school requisites 
in general. It is valuable for S. S. teachers and pastors : 
and every librarian of a parish or S. S. library ought to 
have it for constant reference. — Calendar. 
38 



3, mtnty 

FROM THE WOODS OF CAROLINA. 



Messrs. Editors — Among the many beautiful presents 
to gladden the hearts of our children at this happy sea- 
son, I know of none having as strong a claim on an in- 
habitant of this State, and especially of this city, as the 
volume entitled * ' A Wreath from the Woods of Caro- 
lina." 

The design of the work and the literary matter are by 
a lady of this city, whose genius, manifest to all in this 
production, and evinced to her friends in several depart- 
ments of the arts, not all the cares of a large family and 
a responsible position have been able to repress ; while 
another lady of this city has furnished the colored draw- 
ings from which the beautiful flowers have been engraved. 

The author has presented the fruit of her labors to the 
Church Book Society. It is therefore on her part an 
offering of piety, as well as of taste and talent, to swell 
the amount of the good and beautiful things of the season. 

The Society have shown their sense of the value of the 
gift by the expense and pains which they have bestowed 
upon the volume. Its paper, type, and above all, exquisite 
representations of the flowers, make the book a treasure 
in its externals. 

But, after all, the stories for the children constitute its 
chief attraction and merit. The style is singularly clear 
and animated ; the spirit is the spirit of love and cheerful 
piety ; the lessons are wise, yet admirably adapted to 
children ; and the whole is suggestive of the brightness 
and fragrance and freshness of the woods themselves, in 
a charming morning of May. 

Let all the friends of the young see that their little 
favorites have among their Christian treasures ' ' A Wreath 
from the Woods of Carolina." — From the Raleigh (North 
Carolina^ Standard. 

39 



BOOK NOTICES . 

BESSY MELVILLE; 

Or, Prayer-Book Instructions Carried Out Into Life, 

A SEQUEL TO "THE LITTLE EPISCOPALIAN." 
ey M. A. n. 



The title of this very handsome volume gives a good 
idea of its character. "Bessy's" story, though simple 
and unpretending, is replete with that kind of instruction 
which it is essential that all Christian children should re- 
ceive in one form or other ; and what is more, its lesions 
are rendered so attractive that the most indolent and 
thoughtless of our little friends will find pleasure in 
learning them. The author possesses the rare faculty of 
combining the useful with the agreeable, and at the sam*J 
time writes in pure, correct English, which is more than 
could be said of many pretentious novelists of the present 
day. The book is well printed, and tastefully bound in 
muslin. — Philadelphia Daily News. 



MIA AND CHAPvLIE; 

OH, 

A WEEK'S HOLIDAY AT THE BYDALE RECTORY, 

Is another illustrated, instructive book, from the same 
press. It is sufficient to say that ib is worthy of both • 
Indeed, it has seldom been our privilege to examine a 
volume better calculated to coax children to be sensible, 
religious, and good. Boys and girls will be equally 
pleased with it, and we recommend it accordingly. — Phil- 
adelphia Daily News. 

41 



BOJE. NOTICES. 

Sidney Grey. A Tale of School Life. By the author 
of " Mia and Charlie," 

Is a good, entertaining, useful book for boys. It contains 
sufficient incidents for a modern romance, but they are 
not of the " intense" kind. On the contrary, they are 
generally of ordinary character, such as are constantly 
occurring around us ; but those most commonplace are 
invested with a degree of interest which is in itself a 
charm. "Sydney Grey," however, is no baby's book. 
Indeed, there are not many adults who would not find its 
teachings profitable. The style of the narrative is chaste, 
lively, and graphic, the typography is excellent, and the 
binding at once neat and substantial. N or must we omit 
to tell the little folks that they will also be pleased with 
the illustrations in * ' Sydney Grey. ' ' There are no better 
safeguards against Popery than books of this kind.— 
Philadelphia Daily News. 



The Boy Missionary. By Mrs. Jenny Marsh Parker. 

This is another little volume which is destined to do 
much good, for it is so written that it will be read with 
avidity by those for whose benefit it is intended. The 
story of Davie Hall is full of wholesome encouragement, 
and can not fail to make an impression. 

The Episcopal Church Book Society have also recently 
published "The Life of Bishop Wainwrigkt," " The Life 
6f George Herbert," "The Life of Bishop Raven scroft," 
and "The Tortoise-Shell Comb," all of which are well 
suited for children. Each tiny "Life" is embellished 
with a fine portrait, and ought to find a place in the 
juvenile library of every Protestant family.- -Philaddjphia 
DaUij News. 



t %\U at <$tnxp ftttott. 

BY GEORGE L. DUYCKINOK. 

New York, 1858 : pp. 197. 



We have too long neglected to do our share in bringing 
this delightful little book to the notice of the lovers of 
holy George Herbert, among whom we may safely reckon 
a large number of the readers of the ' ' Atlantic. ' ' It is 
based on the life by Izaak Walton, but contains much new 
matter, either out of Walton's reach or beyond the range 
of his sympathy. 

Notices are given of Nicholas Ferrar and other friends 
of Herbert. There is a very agreeable sketch of Bemerton 
and its neighborhood, as it now is, and the neat illustra- 
tions are of the kind that really illustrate. The Brothers 
Duyckinck are well known for their unpretentious and 
valuable labors in the cause of good letters and American 
literary history, and this is precisely such a book as we 
should expect from the taste, scholarship, and purity of 
mind which distinguish both of them. It is much the 
best account of Herbert with which we are acquainted.— 
Atlantic Monthly. 

43 



BY THE REV. J. N. NORTON. 



The memoir of this Boston boy (son of a New England 
Congregationalist preacher, who afterwards took orders in 
the Church and died in South Carolina, where his more 
celebrated son afterwards became Bishop) is not marked 
by any very striking incident, but breathes everywhere 
the quiet firmness, the affectionate nature, the sober and 
steady principles, the meek and humble spirit of its sub- 
ject. His warm friendship for Bishop Hobart led to a long 
continued correspondence, some specimens of which are 
inserted in this memoir. — Church Journal. 

These biographies of the Bishops are all interesting. — 
Southern Churchman. 

Another and very interesting addition to the several 
memoirs of our Bishops which Mr. Norton has been dili- 
gently preparing and sending through the press. The 
peculiar energy displayed by the subject of this memoir, 
while, a child of eight years, he crossed the river from 
John's Island to Charleston in a boat, and, by his earnest 
pleading, obtained the services of a physician for his dying 
father, continued to mark him through life, united to the 
tenderness and ready sympathy which formed so import- 
ant an element of his piety and his usefulness. — Protedani 
Churchman. 

44 



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